He Wasn't Late
by Artemis Goldborough
Summary: What if Ichigo wasn't out past curfew the night he met Rukia? Better summary inside at the top of the first chapter. AU. For want of a nail. Starts off similar to cannon and follows most of the story but things change more and more as the plot progresses.
1. The Soul Reaper

Disclaimer: I do not own these charters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

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THE QUESTION a.k.a. THE HOOK a.k.a. THE SUMMARY

Anyone who has read the manga knows the story. The fanfics tend to agree with it. In most realties Ichigo Kurosaki stops to help a girl's spirit. A group of skateboarders are recklessly knocking over her memorial on the side walk with their boards. Ichigo scares them. Because of this he is late returning home. He misses the seven o'clock curfew. He gets in a fight with his dad. He storms up stairs and meets the shingami Rukia. What if this didn't happen? What if those skateboarders were not there? What if Ichigo came home on time that night? How does this change things? Let's find out.

CHAPTER ONE: THE SOUL REAPER

Ichigo Kurosaki was a lanky fifteen year old. He had brown eyes. He had bright orange hair which most thought was dyed. His hair got him into a lot of fights with people who thought he was a troublemaker. Today though he hadn't had to fight. Today had been completely uneventful. Strangely Ichigo was sort of bored. Few people would have known this. Ichigo was always scowling. He walked down the street past the vase and flowers of a girl who died recently. The ghost of the girl waved at him. Ichigo had the power to see ghosts. He didn't why he had this power. He had ever since he could remember.

Ichigo walked in front of the clinic his family ran. Their house was part of the same building. His dad was a doctor. Ichigo kicked off his shoes when he got in the house. He walked into the dining area which was an open space connected to the kitchen. His little sister Yuzu was putting out the food. Her twin Karin standing nearby. The twins were eleven. The twins were as different as night and day.

Yuzu was girly. One barrette decorated her short brown hair pulling a third of her bangs to the left side of her head. She was smiling sweetly. She had an apron a clear sign she had been in the kitchen. She was the one who cooked the family's meals.

Karin had jaw length black hair. She was very tomboyish in her appearance and in her attitude. She was wearing a sports team shirt. She was never afraid to speak her mind. She looked mildly annoyed. She didn't smile very often. She never cried.

Their dad Isshin came into the room. "A few minutes later and you would have missed curfew," he said. Isshin had a goofy grin on his face. That smile was all too common. It annoyed Ichigo greatly. Isshin had black hair. When one looked at him and Karin one knew they were related; but their personalities were quite different. Isshin was almost never serious. Today, it seemed was no exception.

Ichigo glared at his father. "The rules in this house are too strict. What kind of parent sets such an early curveiw?"

"I'll have you know, my rules are perfect," Isshin boasted.

"They're a double standard," Karin said, "Ichigo gets away with more. It's not just because of his age." "I do not!" Ichigo shouted. He instantly regretted. He didn't believe that his sister deserved his anger. His old beard face father was a different matter. "Dad, you more like a kid than man. When are you going to grow up?"

"Never I suspect," Karin said, "Even for a man in his forties Dad you're embarrassing."

"Hey now," Isshin said, "It's not fair. Two of my children are ganging up on me!" Tears poured out of Isshin's eyes. He was the only person his kids knew who could cry on demand. The fakness, the over exaggeration was obvious. Isshin went and stood by the gigantic poster on the wall. It was a poster of the Kurasaki siblings' mom. Yuzu looked a lot like her. In big letters their mom's name was written. The poster had the message, '_Masaki forever._'

"Mother," Isshin spoke loudly to the image of his wife, "where did I go wrong in raising our children. It must be adolescence. Why else would our kids be so cruel me? What can I do to change things?"

"Try taking down that ridiculous memorial poster of mom first," Karin said, "Let's eat before the food gets too cold." Karin sat down to eat.

Ichigo sat down at the table across from Karin. She stopped the movement she was making with her chopsticks for a moment. She stared at him. "You seem calmer, brother."

"I haven't gotten in a fight or talked to a ghost today," Ichigo said.

Isshin sat next to his son. "If you want a fight," he said, "Challenge me!"

Ichico shook his head. As his dad leaned towards him he shoved him away. "Shut up! Behave!"

"It's like I said about the ghosts, just ignore them," Karin said, "I do it all the time. It doesn't matter if you have high specs. It doesn't matter if you're a special level A spirit medium who can see, talk to, and touch ghosts. They can't affect the normal world. No spirits can."

Karin leaned against the table. There was an intense expression on her face. "So long as you ignore them it's them it's the same as if they don't exist."

Yuzu looked disturbed as she sat down. "That's kind of harsh," she said. She glanced back and forth between Karin and Ichigo. Her face brightened into another smile. "You know I'm kind of envious you. I only see blurs."

"At least the ghosts aren't bothering me," Ichigo said.

Karin smirked. "You think so?" "Oh," Yuzu said, "That's right. You've been having a lot more trouble with ghosts lately."

Ichigo served himself food. He picked his bowl and chopstick. He almost choked as his father gave a too strong pat on the back.

"You never tell me!" Ichigo's dad exclaimed. "You never tell me anything!"

Yuzu pointed at Ichigo's right shoulder. "It looks like you might have a new person to help."

"What?" Ichigo turned his head. He jumped knocking over the chair. There was the spirit of a middle man with glasses touching his shoulder.

"You're taking this much too seriously," Isshin said grinning his goofy grin. "Live. Relax. Enjoy your youth. Don't worry about the ghost. Don't act like you're so special."

"You can't even see them!" Ichigo shouted. He point angrily at his dad then the ghost. The ghost looked cowered and scared.

"I hate to say that Dad's right," Karin said, "But he is."

Isshin beamed. His smile was that wide. "You do love me!" He stood up and walked over to Karin with his arms wide ready for a hug. "Come to Daddy! Admit that you're not yet cold and jaded toward the world. Say that you still love your dad!"

Karin stuck a out leg tripping Isshin "Not when you act like that I don't!" she said. She sipped from her bowl draining it of liquid.

Ichigo picked his chair back up off putiing back where it belonged.

Ichigo suddenly looked up. "What is that?" A howling sound filled the air. Isshin was still on the floor. A monter with a skull like face came straight through the hole in the wall Ichico's dad stood up only be thrown by the monster. Isshin landed in the kitchen. Yuzu screamed. Karin dropped her bowl and stood up. The monster was coming toward Yuzu.

"No!" Ichico yelled. All he could think was that Yuzu was in danger. He ran between her and the monster.

"Why are you screaming?" Yuzu asked as she stood. "What happedn to the wall?"

"You can't see it?" Ichico looked in the white face of the monter. It was gigantic. It's hand reached and picked Ichigo up. He was lifted several feet above the floor. The monster's grip was squeezing him.

Karin ran at the monster with a pot like it was a club. The monster's free hand batted her away like was nothing.

"Where is it? What's doing this?" Isshin asked.

Karin was on her knees as she said, "I don't know. I can't see well!"

_Is this some kind of spirit?_ Ichigo thought, _I've seen countless ghosts. None like this! This thing, this monster… It's grip… Too tight Am I going to die? It can't end like this! Yuzu! Karin! Dad! They're in danger!_

There was nothing Ichigo could do. Try as he might he could not break free of the monster's grasp. He found himself being flung to the floor.

Lying on the floor Ichigo struggled to sit up. _My body… Too heavy… _Ichigo watched in horror as Karin attacked the monster again only to slashed down by the monster's claws. Blood poured out slowly from her. The monster lost interst in her. It moved closer to Ichigo. Isshin ran near the monster. The monster cut him down. Yuzu screamed then passed out.

Ichigo turned and saw his own body. _That's impossible. That can't be me. I'm not dead. _There was a chain going out from the body. His eyes stared along the line of the chain. It went to his chest. There was a chain on his chest. The monster clawed at the chain. Ichigo bit at his lips. He grimaced from the pain.

The monster stopped. A girl was standing near it. She had a sword in hand. She was dressed in a black hakama. She fought the monster. She moved with grace and skill. Her hair was just above her shoulders. Her hair was black. She was as small, as petite Ichigo's sisters. Her figure suggested that she was a bit older than them. The monster had a hole in its chest. The girl's blade went through it. The monster disappeared.

The girl ran over to Ichigo. She got on her knees beside him. "Good," she said, "The chain of fate has not been severed."

"Is what this is?" Ichigo asked. He gestured at the chain weakly. "What was that monster? I watched it come through the wall. Dad couldn't see it. Yuzu couldn't. Wh-" Ichigo gasped in pain. "What was it?"

"You saw it? Before?" The girl's face showed her shock.

Ichigo looked at his family. They were too still. "Dad… Karin…"

"They will be alright," the girl said, "They are not dead." She put a hand on his chest. Everything went black.

The next thing Ichigo knew he was being jumped on by his dad. He was in bed. His dad was yelling "Good morning!"

Ichigo pinned his father to the floor beside the bed. "You bastard! You've got a lot of guts attacking your son when he sleeps.

"I have nothing left to teach you!" Isshin said. Ichigo's eyes went wide.

"Your injuries," Ichigo said.

"What injuries," Isshin asked, "Am I injured? What are you talking about?"

"Nothing," Ichigo said. Vague images flashed in his mind of his father getting hurt. It was dreamlike. It was something about a monster. He couldn't what it looked like. Ichigo shook his head as he let his father up.

A few minutes later the entire family was outside staring at the gapping hole in the wall of the building. "

"… but it sure was a miracles," Isshin said, "For a truck to hit the house and nobody gets injured."

Ichigo stared in disbelief. "How is possible that we weren't hurt? The real miracle here is that no one woke up."

"Some miracle," Karin said sarcastically. A baseball cap was on her head. She crossed her arms. "It's because of that, that the criminal got away." She shook her head. "How could we not have woken up?"

_What's really going on? _Ichigo thought, _Did a truck hit the house? Somehow that doesn't seem so? What other explanation is there? That dream… It's all faded and distant. I can't remember anything but the sight of Dad and Karin. They looked dead! _Ichigo shuddered. He closed his eyes and breathed deep._ Get a grip! It was only a dream! Or was it?_

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NEXT TIME: THE PRINCESS AND HER BROTHER!


	2. A Princess And Her Brother

Disclaimer: With the exception of the unamed female ghost in this chapter I do not own any of these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

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CHAPTER TWO: A PRINCESS AND HER BROTHER

At Karakura High School a girl sat in a classroom with her chair against a wall. To either side of her chair was a window. The girl was named Orihime Inoue. Her hair was a burnt orange. Her bangs were parted with hairpins holding the sides. The hairpins had a design like green flowers on the ends. Orihime's hair was long going down to her bustline. Her bustline was the largest of any girl in her class. Her figure was curvy but slender.

Orihime's head was tilted up touching the wall. She stared at the ceiling. She yawned. She was dressed in the school uniform the girls wore, a white shirt the tie done in a bow, a grey jacket over the shirt, and a pleated skirt. Every girl in the room wore the uniform. It was mandatory.

Orihime's best friend was Tatsuki Arisawa, an athletic girl with short spiky black hair. Tatsuki Arisawa put her hands on her hips. She stood beside Orihime. "Hey, your mouth is open," she said, "You're too young to be zoning out."

"Tatsuki Chan!" Orihime said in a dreamy voice. Her voice became more energetic and alert. "Ichigo sure is late!"

"You were thinking of Ichigo, weren't you? Tell the truth!" Tatsuki teased. "You were!"

"No, I wasn't!" Orihime was blushing.

Tatsuki's brows went down. "What could you possibly like about him? He's cold. His hair is weird. He's a brat. He's short tempered." Tatsuki pulled the chair from her desk up the wall beside Orihime. Tatsuki then sat down. "Frankly, a girl as beautiful as you could do so much-"

"He's funny," Orihime said interrupting Tatsuki. Orihime closed her eyes as she smiled. "I just imagine that grimacing face of his. In Orihime's mind she saw Ichigo's scowling face. She saw several copies of that face each with different markup or hairstyle combinations. Ichigo with an afro. Ichigo with stars painted on his cheeks. Ichigo with a walrus like mustache. Orihime couldn't help the giggle that came out of her. She covered her mouth. "He's the best!"

Tatsuki was skeptical. "Really?"

"He might not be coming," a boy said. He was sitting at a desk. He gazed over at the two girls. "Ichigo that is." The boy who spoke was Mizuiro Kojima. He was one of Ichigo's friends. His black hair flared out on the ends. He was a small boy. He looked younger than he was. He had on the boys uniform which consisted of a zipped up grey jacket and matching pants.

Tatsuki and Orihime stared at him for a second. They moved their chairs back to their desks which were near his.

"What do you mean, Kojima-Kun?" Orihime asked, "You always come to school with him."

"I passed by there this morning," Kojima said waving a hand in gesture, "There was this huge hole in the side of the house. Ichigo was just standing there. I've never seen anyone look more rattled. He told me a truck hit the house. He didn't sound like he believed it"

"What?" Orihime's voice squeaked. Her eyes went wide.

Kojima nodded. "It's true. His dad confirmed the tale. A truck crashed the house in the middle of the night."

"A truck?" Tatsuki sat leaning in her chair. "Is he okay? You saw him. Was he injured? How badly?"

A book bag hit the back of Tatsuki's head. The owner of the book bag said, "Sorry to disappoint you Tatsuki but I'm not hurt. Nobody was injured." It was Ichigo Kurosaki. He was wearing his school uniform with the jacket unzipped enough that one could see the hint of a t-shirt.

"Goo-good morning!" Orihime said nervously to Ichigo.

"You look as cheerful as always, Inoue," Ichigo said to Inoue as he went to sit at his desk behind Kojima.

Kojima watched the interaction between Ichigo and Orihime. As Ichigo moved to his desk, Kojima turned his head toward him. "So what were you doing?" Kojima asked, "Were you helping out with the repairs?"

"What class is third period?" Ichigo asked.

"Social Studies," Kojima said.

"Ochi-san?" Ichigo raised a brow. "He's fairly easygoing. He won't give much me trouble about it.

The day went on uneventfully until lunch. Orihime and Tatsuki left the classroom before Ichigo and his friends. Kojima and Ichigo stood near the door. Kojima said a low voice, "If you had skipped school or something I might have forgotten to mention it. It's not that big a deal but I think Orihime Inoue has a crush on you."

For the second time that morning Ichigo was shocked. _It's funny, _he thought to himself, _I've never really thought of her that way. She is pretty though._

Two weeks and some days later a light changed on a busy street in Karakura town. It was night. Orihime was crossing the street when the light changed. She was wearing sandal, a floral pattern skirt and a long sleeved shirt with flowers on the sleeves. That was her idea of casul. She was happily singing. Then a car came at her. She barely had time to turn her head or move.

The next day, in the late afternoon Ichigo was walking along the sidewalk on another nearby street. The ghost of an old lady in a swimsuit followed. "Seriously," Ichigo said, "Could you have chosen to die in a less revealing outfit?"

"That's not how you treat elders sonny!" the ghost yelled. The wrinkly form of the ghost was wearing a bright yellow string bikini.

"Well you're not acting respectable, Gran!" Ichigo snapped back.

Orihime was walking down the sidewalk in front of him. She was wearing short floral skirt and a short sleeved shirt. There were wrapped bandages on her right arm. There were Band-Aids on her left. There was a massive area of bruise and skinned knee along her left leg. "Hello Kurosaki-kun!" she said when she saw him.

"Inqoue, what are you doing here?" Ichigo asked.

"I live near here. I'm headed home!" Orihime smiled. "What are you doing?

Ichigo looked her in an embarrassed way. _I can't tell her I'm helping a ghost_, he thought, _She wouldn't believe it. I don't want anyone from school to know. Why does talking to her have to seem so awkward? Ever since I started thinking she was cute…_

Orihime giggled. The ghost beside Ichigo was impatient. The old lady in the bikini had a hand one of her hips. The other hand was poking at Ichigo's arm. "In my day," the ghost said, "When a man wanted to court lady he did so. There was no waiting and blushing like he was a maiden fair."

Ichigo was torn between embarrassment and wanting to yell at the ghost, something he dared not do in front of Orihime. His face scrunched up in an odd expression.

Orihime giggled even more. "You look so funny."

"Wh- what-" Ichigo stuttered. He looked at her arms. "What happened to you?"

"This?" Orihime pointed at her left arm, at the band-aids. "I bumped into a display at the grocery store. I don't know how it happened but the can goods broke the nearest window and sent glass flying. I guess I'm lucky. It could have been worse." I'm just so clumsy!"

Ichigo scowled at Orihime. "You've never been that clumsy. I suppose you got the wound on the other arm from the same accident?"

Orihime shook her head grinning. "No. I got hit by a car!"

"What?" Ichigo shouted.

"I was going shopping last night for something to drink and bam! A car hit me! I've been falling or getting hit a lot lately." Orihime laughed. She tilted her head down. There was a slight blush on her cheeks.

Ichigo crossed his arms. "You shouldn't be laughing. That's serious. You should angry or something."

"Young man," the ghost said, "You should escort this girl home, right now! My problems are nothing. If you care for her, protect her even from herself! That's what my Jiro would have done. He was such a honorable man."

Ichigo glared at the ghost. He opened his mouth as if to yell at it. Orihime's laughter stopped him just in time. Orihime could not see ghosts. All she saw was Ichigo making a fool of himself. An embarrassing blush crept ever so slightly into Ichigo's face.

"Oh sonny! Men aren't supposed to blush!" the ghost yelled. "But on you who is merely a boy, it is sort of cute! It is adorable! But you'll never win a girl's heart that way!" The ghost cackled like a Halloween witch from an old American cartoon.

"Will you shut up!" Ichigo yelled at the ghost.

Orihime looked upset. "I'm sorry," she said. She turned around and walked back in the dirrction she came from.

"Inoue!" Ichigo shouted.

Orihime turned back around to look at him. Her eyes were watery. "Yes?"

Ichigo put a hand on his forehead. "Look," he said, "I'm the one who should be apologizing. I wasn't yelling at you. I can't explain but it wasn't you. If you thought I was yelling at you then I'm sorry."

"If you say so," Orihime said. She turned and continued on in the direction she had been headed towards.

Ichigo could see that the injury on her leg was not just on the front but on the back of her leg as well. With his father being a doctor and the clinic being run at home, he knew some things about the medical field. Most of the knowledge was accidental. It wasn't like he wanted to be a doctor. Accident or not though, he knew plenty about first aid. That wound seemed strange. "Inoue!" Ichigo shouted again.

Orihime didn't turn around fully. This time it was only her head and upper torso. She turned slowly to look back at him. "Yes, Kurosaki-kun?"

"How," Ichigo asked. He pointed at her leg. "How did you get that mark?"

"Oh, this?" Orihime tilted her head down. She gazed at the injury on her leg. "I don't know. I think I got it last night. It was there when I woke this morning. I think it must be from the car too. Maybe it was a delayed reaction or something like that." She glanced at her watch. "It's that late? I better get going!"

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Ichigo asked.

"Sure!" Orihime's eyes wide. She smiled wildly too. She ran to Ichigo. She seemed ready to hug him. She stopped only an inch away from him.

"So chivalrous," the old lady ghost said, "Offering to deliver a girl to her parents' door!"

_She doesn't have any parents, _Ichigo thought to himself, _None that I've ever seen. The only family of hers that I ever met was her brother, on the night he died. _An image flashed in his mind of himself from three years ago. He was at his dad's clinic opening the door. A girl was there with a much taller man she was carrying. She was nearly dragging him. _I didn't know her back then. It was only recently that I found out that girl was Orihime Inoue. We didn't have the proper medical equipment. Her brother was so badly hurt. A car accident…There was nothing we could do. He died before an ambulance could arrive to take him to the hospital._

"This is so romantic." The ghost sighed. "Just like my Jiro."

_No, I'm not! _Ichigo thought. If he could done so without upsetting Orihime, he would have yelled at the ghost again. He settled for glaring at it. It was a response which gained him more of Orihime's giggles. Ichigo walked with her one block over. He stayed near her until they reached her doorstep.

Tatsuki was waiting there. Tatsuki was boyishly dressed. Tatsuki looked at Ichigo with shock then anger. "You! What are you doing?"

"Nothing Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime smiled at Igchio. "He was just walking me home."

"You better not being trying anything. Ichigo-kun!" Tatsuki yelled, "If you hurt Orihime-"

"I should leave now," Ichigo said.

"Wait," Orihime said, "Please stay for a little while. Both of you come in. I can offer you something to drink. We could talk for a little while. Please?" Orihime's eyes were pleading in a puppy dog sort of way.

Tatsuki crossed her arms and raised her head high in a borderline arrogant manner. This seemed to suggest she thought she was superior. "I've got nothing say to him!"

Ichigo gave Tatsuki a very sharp glare. His arms went a little wild in gesturing. "Well same here!"

"Children! Children! Please behave!" said the ghost of the old woman in the bikini. The ghost which only Ichigo could see or hear.

"You might be stronger than me," Tatsuki said, "but I can give as good as I get!"

"Oh really?" Ichigo raised his brows questioningly. Tatsuki used to beat him in martial arts classes when they were kids. Starting at the sixth grade he beat her. He was definitely stronger.

Ten minutes later Ichigo had the beginnings of a black eye. Both Ichigo and Tatsuki looked like they had gotten in a fight. Which they had. Ichigo had gotten the worse of it. Tatsuki hardly looked hurt. They were sitting on the floor barefoot in Orihime's home. They sat at a small low table that not quite big enough for three people. Orihime was bringing a tray with drinks to the table.

Orihime gave Ichigo an ice pack. There was a sympathetic expression on her face. It was impossible to know who she was concerned about more. She placed the tray on the table. She lowered herself down to sit at the table. "Kurosaki-kun! Tatsuki-chan!," she said happily, "I'm just so glad that neither of you is hurt!"

"I wouldn't say that." Ichigo pressed the ice pack against his swollen eye. He gave Tatsuki one of his signature scowls. "Tatsuki, how did you hit so hard?"

Tatsuki looked apologetic. "I don't know. I haven't been able to beat you in years. "Four to be exact," Ichigo said.

Tatsuki's expression went from apology to triumph. "I was pretty awesome, wasn't I?"

"Says who?" Ichigo asked.

"Says me," the bikini clad ghost said startling Ichigo. Ichigo nearly jumped, and Orihime gigleed as the old woman ghost was suddenly right behind Ichigo. The ghost's voice was self assured and filled a tone of superiority. "Never underestimate the power of a woman in a righteous furry."

"What are you looking at Ichigo-kun?" Tatsuki asked.

"Nothing," Ichigo mumbled.

"All alone in a house with two girls," the ghost said, "Simply disgraceful. Who is there to defend their honor. Though that mannish one doesn't look like she needs anybody." The ghost cackled. "She beat you up sonny!"

Ichigo looked at his watch. It was getting close to six thirty. He stood up. He put the ice pack down on the talbe. "I think I better go," he said.

Soon Ichigo was out on the street in front of Orihime's home. The ghost was next to him. He shouted at her everything he wanted to from before. It was a lot of built up frustration. "What's the big idea," he yelled, "You act like you're so respectable yet look you! You are not one to talk. You died in your nineties in a binki! You're making fun at me at every turn. You won't leave me alone! You haven't since we met at noon today. You followed me everywhere even places you shouldn't. You talk about modesty and shame yet you have none! What is it you want from me? What is it you want to me to do?"

The old woman ghost cackled. "Nothing sonny, not anymore. For the record I'm eighty not ninety."

Ichigo glared in a way that if looks could kill would have done it ten times over. "You could fooled me!"

"If I were sixty years younger-" The ghost sighed. "Oh the time we could have."

Ichigo jabbed his finger pointing harshly at the ghost. "You're dead, Gran! Get that through your thick head. You're dead! Now hurry and move on to heaven or where ever it is ghosts go!"

Something moved around Orihime's house. Ichigo barely saw it. He turned his head. He watched as the end of a giant snake like tail passed like a ghost straight into Orihime's house. "What is that?"

"What?" the old ghost said, "I don't know what you're talking about."

"A snake," Ichigo said, "It went in Orihime's house the way a ghost would."

"I may dead," the old woman ghost said, "But I'm not dumb. You're making fun of me! It's been fun being around you. You made feel young and alive. That house different. That house is scary."

Ichigo stared at the ghost in disbelief. "What could scare a ghost? You're what frightens other people!'

"Thanks a lot, sonny!" The ghost was angry. "For that I will leave you sooner."

"About time," Ichigo muttered.

"I heard that!" the ghost said as she moved down the street away from Ichigo.

Ichigo stared up at the roof of the house. Something stuck its head out of the roof. It was huge. The upper torso was a misshapen figure of a man. The lower half was the snake like form Ichigo had seen disappearing into the house.

"That can't be good," Ichigo said aloud.

"**Orihime!"** the creature shouted. It's face was covered by a white bone mask. It's voice was inhuman. "**Orihime you are mine!" **The creature, the monster passed through the roof back into the house.

_That monster, _Ichigo thought, _I feel like I've seen something like it before but when? It's after Orihime! I've got to do something! _Ichigo ran back toward the house.

In under a minute Ichigo was brusting into the room where Tatsuki and Orihime were sitting at the table. The monster was a few feet away in another area of the room. There was a set of drawers. On top of the drawyers was a teddy bear. The monster was staring at it. Tatsuki and Orihime looked Ichigo like he was strange.

"What are you doing, Ichigo?" Tatsuki asked, "You don't just come barging-" She was interrupted by a ripping sound. The monter's claws tore a hole in the face of the teddy bear. The teddy bear fell to the floor.

"Tatsuki! Inoue-chan! You have to get out of here!" Ichigo yelled.

"What are you talking about?" Tatsuki asked.

Ichigo's brow went up in great shock. "You can't see it?"

"Yeah, I saw it," Tatsuki said, "It's strange that the bear just fell like that." Tatsuki and Orihime walked over toward the drawers.

"Stay back!" Ichigo yelled. _They can't see it!_ Ichigo thought, _it must be some kind of spirit. I've never seen a ghost like this. Or have I? _An image went through his mind of a different monster. It too had a white mask. Ichigo saw the monster as if it was rampaging in his family's home._ But that's impossible! That never happened! Did it?_

Tatsuki and Orihime moved dangerously close to the monster. It moved aside. It watched them. Orihime picked up the teddy bear. "How horrible!" Orihime shouted, "My bear Enraku! He's ripped!"

"How weird," Tatsuki said, "The fabric must be worn out."

The monster stuck a claw punching right through the teddy bear. The monster's clawed hand went straight through Orihime. She fell backwards.

"Orihime!" Tatsuki bent down near her friend. The monster grabbed by the shoulder and flung her towards Ichigo. He barely jumped out of the way in time. She hit the wall by the door with a loud thud. Her shoulder was bleeding. "Blood, why?"

The monster pinned Tatsuki down. It was right above her.

_I've got to do something! _Ichigo thought. _It's going to kill her! _Ichigo tried to hit the monster. The monster flung him across the room as he weighed no more than a child's toy. Ichigo landed against a wall next to Orihime. His chest was cut bleeding where the monster touched him with its claws. Ichigo stared at Orihime. _Wait a second, she was on the floor… _There were two Orihimes. One was on the floor. The other was huddled against the wall. A chain linked the two Orihimes.

_What's going on?_ Orihime thought to herself, _it's hard to move. What is that big ghost thing? _She gazed at the body on the floor. _My body? What happened to me? My head feel like it's spinning… am I dead? _She grasped at a chain that was attached to her chest. _This.. It hurts… I want to break it._ She pulled at the chain.

"No Orihime!" Ichigo shouted. _If she's a ghost…_he thought, _then why is that chain attached to her? Could be some sort of link to her life? _Aloud he pleaded, "I don't know what that is, but don't break it! Not yet!"

The monster came toward Ichigo and Orihime. It picked Ichigo up by his left arm and threw to the other side of the room. Ichigo stifled a scream as he hit yet another wall. He landed high near the ceiling. He fell down face forward to the floor. He turned his head to the side as he hit the surface. His eyes closed. He lay there appearing as if he was passed out. _My back…my chest….my arm…Can't move. I have to! Orihime! _Ichigo opened his eyes. He crawled toward the monster.

The monster picked up the Orihime that was moving against a wall. At that moment a girl in a hakama walked through a wall with a sword raised high. Her hair was black going down to her shoulders. Ichigo felt as he had seen her before. The girl sliced at the monster. It moved back dropping Orihime.

"**YOU DARE INTERFERE**?" the monster asked in a booming voice. The monster tossed the girl out through. There was now a gaping hole in the wall as wood went flying outward. The monster's focus went back to Orihime. It picked her up again.

"Let me go! Let go!" Orihime yelled.

"**Have you forgotten about me?" **the monster asked. It's voice reamained creepy and inhuman even when calm. _"_**ORIHIME, IT'S ME!"** the monster screamed

Orihime's eyes went wide. "Brother?"

"What!" Ichigo said.

"Big brother is it really you?" Orihime asked, "Why are you hurting Kurosaki-kun and Tatsuki-chan? Why are you acting this way? What happened to you?"

"**That should be obvious!"** the monster's voice roared,_**"**_**They tried to tear you and I apart! After I died you prayed for me everyday. It used to make me feel so happy. I was always watching. But a year or so later you became friends with that girl. That Tatsuki Arisawa. Your prayers began to lessen then you went to high school and everything became about Ichigo Kurosaki. You finally stopped praying for me all together!"**

From down on the floor, Ichigo spoke up, "If you really are her brother then you're not much of a big brother."

"**How dare you?" **The monster turned toward Ichigo. Ichigo could see now that one of its eyes was human looking and not fully surrounded by the mask. "**I raised her. She was born when I was fifteen. She was more like a daughter than a sister to me. Our parents were no good. I was the one who took care of her. I named her. Her name is that of a princess in a legend, a meaningful name. I wanted her to live a meaningful life. I wanted her to have everything. I took her away from our parents as soon as I was old enough. I sacrificed everything for her. Her happiness and well being was everything! It was just the two of us. The two of us forever."**

"Was it?" Ichigo asked. He gasped from pain. "Don't you know that big brothers are born first to look protect the siblings that come after them. You aren't doing a very good job of that. You have to know to when to let go. You're hurting her now. You're not helping her. You're not protecting her."

"**Orihime is mine," **the monster yelled, **"Mine forever! If she won't live for me. Then she will die for me!" **The monster dropped Orihime. **"You will not take her from me. You will not!" **The monster'shead bent down coming right at Ichigo. The huge skeletal teeth of the mask was a frightening sight. The teeth opened wide revealing that it was more than just a mask. Ichigo closed his eyes as if he was expecting to die. The monster stopped. Ichigo opened eyes to the sight of sandaled feet. The girl in the hakama was standing in front of him. She had her sword against the monster's mouth. She sent the monster reeling backwards.

The monster hit the floor. The floor shook from its impact. The monster rose back up.

Orihime ran and hugged the monster. "Big brother I didn't want you to worry. I thought if I told you all the things that made me happy you wouldn't be upset. I thought if I told you about school and friends that it would please you. I didn't want you to see me cry. I didn't want to make you worry."

"Move aside," the girl in the hakama said. "Don't kill him!" Orihime shouted. Tears were rolling down her face.

"He's already dead," the girl in the hakama said, "I'm not going to destroy him. I'm going to purify his soul. I'm going to send him on to what you would call heaven."

"I'm sorry," Orihime said, "I'm sorry if I made you sad, big brother." She collapsed to the ground.

"**Orihime!" **the monster shouted.

"She can still be saved!" the girl in the hakama yelled, "If you still care for her at all, move back! I can heal her with my demon arts, so long her chain of fate is not broken. I can do it but I must hurry."

"**Orihime," **the monster said. It's voice was nearly a wail. **"Orihime…Orihime!" **The monster's head was slumped. It's body language was non-aggressive.

"Move back, you're only getting in the way of the healing!" the girl shouted. She got on her knees beside Orihime.

The monster backed away. **"In truth, Orihime," **the monster said, **"I knew that you never stopped caring. That you stopped praying so you wouldn't worry me. I still wanted you to. That time was the only time when I knew your heart was all mine."**

Ichigo stared up at the monster. Ichigo forced himself up on to his knees. "You really are her brother, aren't you? You're Sora Inoue."

"**Yes," **the monster said.

"Her hairpins came from you, didn't they?" Ichigo said, "She told me about that. She never goes a day without wearing them. They were the last gift her brother gave her. That is why she wears them."

The monster's eyes, Sora Inoue's eyes went wide.

Ichigo continued speaking. "Both the dead and the living are sad. Don't be so selfish. You're not the only one hurting. She is just as sad."

"I never noticed," Sora said, his voice sounding more human. "The hairpins…I thought she threw them away." Sora removed his mask revealing a human looking face. "If I stay like this I'll up end hurting her. I'm ready to move on."

"Take my sword then," the girl in the hakama said, "Run it through you. This will purify you. It will wash the sins you have committed as a hollow. It will send you on your way to the soul society, what you would call heaven."

The monster that Sora Inoue had become did as the girl said. He picked up the blade that she had dropped. He ran through his chest.

As Sora faded away, Orihime opened her eyes. "Big Brother good-bye."

Ichigo fell forward. He passed out only to awaken to the girl in the hakama leaning over him. "Who are you?" she asked, "You are not in soul form yet you see me! You saw and spoke to the hollow."

"Have we met?" Ichigo asked. He coughed.

The girl in the hakama nodded. "This is the second time. Be still. Let me heal you." She helped to turn him over on his back. She put a hand on his bleeding chest. "Your wounds are the worst.

"Inoue? Tatsuki?" Ichigo looked around the room. He saw Tatsuki and Inoue were on the floor with their eyes closed looking asleep.

"If you mean those two," the girl said, "I healed them. Your injuries are worse. I've already used up a lot of my strenth. I may not be able to heal you as thoroughly. You are lucky your spine isn't broken. The cut on your arm is deep. One of your ribs is broken."

"Heh," Ichigo said, wincing in pain, "That's why I'm hurting so much? You helped that spirit. Are you some kind of angel?" Ichigo never heard the answer. He passed out again.

When Ichigo woke up he was being shaken by Tatsuki. She was looking angry. "Can you believe it? The nerve of that man! We never did anything to him! We never even saw him. No one's going to believe this." Her face softened for a moment. "Are you okay?"

"What?" Ichigo said. _I'm hurting_, he thought, _but not half as bad as I was. There was the fight with an overprotective Tatsuki… I left and came back…why?…I saw something…and then… _He starred at the hole in the wall. _I… I've got two sets of memories as to how that happened…_There was a vague image in his mind of a heavy man with a top knot marching into the house. Ichigo chased after him. The man was soon knocking him down. _That… that didn't happen! Did it? That memory.. It feels fake? Why do I feel I've been in this situation before?_

The next day at Karakura High School Ichigo was early to class. He looked a little beat-up like he had gotten in a fight. He was sitting at his desk when Orihime came into the classroom with Tatsuki.

"Last night," Orihime said loudly, "a sumo wrestler came into my room with a bazooka! He hit the wall and everything! It's true! Tatsuki-chan and Kurosaki-kun can back me up! They saw it too!"

Everyone in the classroom looked at Ichigo. "Is this the truth?" Kojima asked. He stood near Ichigo's desk. The entire class was waiting for Ichigo to speak.

He scowled at everyone. His arms up to the elbows were on his desk. He slouched. He put a hand against his forehead over one of his eyes. "Whether it's true or not, I'm not saying," he said, "It's too ridiculous." Ichigo put his hand back down on the desk. He gave the class a knowing smirk. "Personally I'd rather believe in demonic ghosts and hakama wearing angels."

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER THREE: THE PARROT THAT TALKED!


	3. The Parrot That Talked

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER THREE: THE PARROT THAT TALKED

There was a cage with a white bird inside. On a side walk in Karakura town three young men sat on the ground with the birdcage out in front of them. Near them directly behind the middle of the three was a construction site. The young man in the middle had shoulder length blond hair. He wore an open long sleeved shirt with buttons and another shirt underneath. His name was Gitano Shigeo. His guitar was leaned against the wall in front of the construction site. Shigeo raised a brow. "A cursed parakeet? And now it's come around to you?" Shigeo leaned left toward the one who had brought the bird.

The young man who brought the bird was named Harutoki Ide. He was slender. His hair was very short, a buzz cut. He looked sort of nervous. "This bird," Ide said, "is a cockatiel. It's sort of a parrot. My cousin was yelling at me about that this morning. It's not a parakeet. Anyway they say it's cursed. It wasn't just her saying that. Almost everyone who has had the bird has died unless they got rid of it fast. My cousin's roommate is in the hospital. My cousin…she blamed the bird. Then thrust it on me. I did some checking. I don't like any of the stories I've heard."

For a moment all three young men were quiet. Ide stared intently at the bird then Shigeo. "So Shigeo, do you want it?"

"Why would I?" Shigeo said, "After hearing that tale, no way!"

Ide smiled a too sweet smile. He held up the birdcage in front of the other young man. "What about you Chad-san? Do you want it?"

The last of the trio was Yasutora Sado. Chad was his nickname. He went to Karakura High School. He was very tall. He was strong. He was broad. He had naturally tanned skin, the result of Mexican heritage on his mother's side. His hair was wavy, brown, partially covering his eyes. He wore a flashy short sleeved short shirt with a collar. His face wasn't usually expressive. People who didn't know him could have easily mistaken him for being bored or tired.

"The bird is really, really cute!" Ide said. "Idiot," Shigeo said, "You know how Chad is about cute things. He is so weak. He can't resist. He-"

From the construction site, there was a steel high half way up the unfinished building. The beam began to teeter downward. It fell. Chad and Shigeo both saw it. It was heading for Shigeo's head. If it landed it would hit all three of them. Chad didn't hesitate. He moved surprisingly fast. He stood. He caught the beam with his back and his arms. The beam bent on his back.

"Cha- Cha- Chad-san!" Ide half shouted, half stuttered, "He's a freak! He's amazing! He caught the beam with his back!"

"Chad, are you aright?" Shigeo asked.

"It's nothing," Chad said.

"Thank you for saving me," a childlike voice said. It was coming from the birdcage. The bird was speaking. "My name is Yuuichi Suibata. What's your name, mister?"

"This bird, what is with it?" Shigeo asked.

"It's like it understands," Ide said.

Chad ignored his friends. He responded to the bird. "My name is Yasutora Sado. I'm fifteen."

At Karakura High School the next day, Ichigo sat on the roof with back against a balcony. He wore his school. There was hint of a t-shirt with the number fifteen teen under the jacket. The shirt was a play on his name which could be regarded as a homonym of the Japanese word for fifteen. The orange haired teenager was sitting next to his friend Mizuiro Kojima. They were beginning to eat lunch.

"What's happening with you and Inoue?" Kojima asked, "I've seen you looking at her."

"Nothing's happening" Ichigo scowled. "I wish you hadn't noticed that she liked me. I wish you hadn't pointed that out. Would you please stop mentioning it!"

"Mentioning what?" their friend Keigo Asano asked. He was a slim boy of average height, a young man with jaw length brown hair that flipped out at the tips.

"Orihime Inoue," Kojima said.

"Ah her!" Asano grinned in a goofy way. He leaned down near Ichigo. "We know you have a crush on her. We also know you never noticed her that way until recently. She's been so obvious about her feelings. Everyone could see it but you. It's safe to say that she wasn't too happy last week. That crazy sumo wrestler story. The least you could've done if you really like her, was agree with her."

"That's right," Kojima said, "Last week she was pretty annoyed. I don't know that I ever saw her mad before."

Asano stood straight. He backed away. He looked around. "Hey, where's Chad?"

"I don't know." Kojima shrugged.

Ichigo stared blankly at the air. Images of the night sumo wrestler flashed through his mind. An image went through his mind of Orihime getting mad in the classroom the next day. _I can't tell her,_ he thought, _that it didn't happen. That memory is false… She doesn't remember… Inoue doesn't know what_ _really happened. How can I tell her the truth? I can't_

Memories flashed through Ichigo's mind in picture-like images. The first was the monster that Sora Inoue had become. The next was of Orihime saying goodbye. Then of the girl in the black hakama. He saw the girl in Orihime's room fighting Sora Inoue. A more faded image was of her in his house fighting a different monster. _There was no sumo wrestler. Three weeks ago my house getting hit by a truck…that didn't happen either… That girl…she saved Yuzu, Karin and Dad… She saved my life twice…I don't know her name… I don't even know what she is… She's no human… she has powers… healing…the ability to make people forget. But it didn't work so well on me the second time. I still can't remember the first time clearly…_

"Earth to Ichigo," Asano said. He waved a hand in front of Ichigo's face "You're spacing out. What are you thinking of? A girl? Orihime Inoue, maybe? It is her, isn't it? I happen to be an expert on girls! Leave everything to me. I'll help you win her!"

Kojima snickered. "This from a guy who can't seem to keep a girl's attention for five minutes!"

"Hey," Asano said defensively, "It's not my fault if certain girls can't appreciate my charms, my-" Asano's eyes went wide. He fell forward. In seconds Asano was on his knees. He looked up behind him. "You, what are you do-?" He went quiet as his eyes went wider. His brows shot up toward the top of his forehead.

Standing behind Asano with his leg up was the one who kicked him. This guy had yellow hair and brows, the product of bleach. There were three earrings in his left ear. Another ring was on his lower lip. There were bruises on his face. Two other guys, his friends were standing behind him. They were more beat-up than him. The bleached blond was named Reiichi Oshima. "Yo Kurosaki, when you going to dye your hair?" Ichigo glared. "I keep telling you it's natural. I'm not going to dye it to please you or anyone else. You should do something about your own head. I've said this before too. It looks like a chicken's head."

Oshima moved forward ready to hit Ichigo. His friends grabbed by the arms. "You can't do this!" one of them shouted, "We already got beat up by him this morning!" Oshima's friends dragged him away.

Oshima turned his head back for a second, yelling, "This isn't over Kurosaki!" Oshima pulled away from his friends. He brushed at the sleeves of his jacket as by doing so he was regaining his dignity. He walked away under his own power. His two friends followed.

A minute later Chad showed up on the roof. He was carrying a birdcage a strap swung over his left shoulder. There were scratches on his hand. There was a band aid on his left cheek.

"Chad, what kept you?" Asano asked, "We almost got creamed. Someone should show that Oshima a thing or two."

Ichigo's brows went up. His signature scowl was considerably lessened. "You're…injured. What happened?"

Chad pointed at his head. "From yesterday…a steel beam fell from above. My hands and stuff are from going to buy milk earlier. First a tree tried to fall on me. Next, I had an encounter with a motorcycle."

"What are you doing?" Ichigo asked, his voice raised to a yell.

"The woman on the motorcycle was badly hurt," Chad said calmly, "I had to take her to the hospital."

"So that's why you're late," Asano said, "That's why you weren't here earlier."

"Still," Ichigo muttered, "What kind of body do you have? A body as tough as iron."

Chad placed the birdcage down on the concrete of the roof.

Ichigo's brow were going back down. They immediately went back up at the sight of the bird. "Huh?"

"Um," Asano said, "What's with the bird?"

"Hello," the bird said in it's childlike voice, "My name is Yuuichi Shibata. What are your names?"

Ichigo's face instantly became worried looking and more than a little alarmed. _That bird, _he thought, it's _not normal! There's something about it…It's like I'm sensing something…it's not bad but what is it?…What's going on?_

"Wow!" Asano said, "He's speaks so well!" Asano stood over the birdcage. "My name is Keigo Asano. Say it? Asano!"

"Asano," the bird repeated.

"My nickname is Ewan McGregor," Asano said, "Repeat that."

"Am I supposed to say something about that?" the bird said, "You don't look Irish."

Ichigo pointed at the bird. "Chad, where did you get the bird?"

Chad held up a finger. "Yesterday…" His voice trailed off into silence. He sat down on the concrete. "I got it yesterday."

"What kind of explanation is that? That's not enough!" Ichigo yelled.

"Admit it! You're being lazy," Asano said, "Too lazy to come with an explanation!"

"I am not," Chad said. He got out bread crumbs from his bag. He sat in front of the cage feeding the bird.

Later that afternoon coming from school, Ichigo walked in through the front door, the door to his father's clinic.

Karin was running with a box of supplies. Yuzu was pulling a hospital bed with a patient. The twins were dressed in the nurse uniforms their father had them wear when they were helping with the clinic.

"What's the rush? What's going on here?" Ichigo asked. Moving across the room he nearly knocked over twice. Once by Karin, and once by Yuzu.

Karin pointed toward the front of the clinic. "There was a car accident out by the inner section! Now move! Keep out of my way!"

"I said I need six beds!" Ichigo's dad shouted, "We don't have the equipment to take care of them all! You tell the manger that this is a 'request from Kurosaki'! Then tons of beds will open up. You got that!" Isshin slammed down a phone.

Ichigo stuck his head through the doorway of the room his father was in. "Dad," he said, "Is there anything I can do?"

"No," Isshin said, "Stay of the way. Go sit in a corner so you are out of the way!"

Ichigo sat on the floor in a corner near the front door. A large familiar shape soon walked through the door limping. It was Chad. The birdcage was being carried by one finger. Chad moved as if he could hardly walk

"Whoa," Isshin said, "A big one!" He ran toward Chad who was ready to collapse. "Son, there is something you can do. Help carry him!"

Ichigo rose up and rushed to help his father. Together Isshin and Ichigo managed to get Chad to a bed in the clinic's treatment room. It was a large room filled with a bunch of hospital beds and medical supplies.

The birdcage was placed on the floor by the hospital bed. Chad sat on the bed. His shirt was torn. There was blood. Chad unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off. There was a large bleeding burn on his back.

_That wound,_ Ichigo thought, _It looks like claw marks_…_what is this feeling? What am I sensing…whatever it is, it's not good…those monsters…those spirit creatures…they're not normal ghosts…they're something else…one of them could have done something like this…_ Ichigo's face was intense with thought and worry.

Karin was staring at the birdcage, at the bird. On her face was a look of fear.

"This a terrible wound," Isshin said. Ichigo's dad examined the wound. "It's bleeding. You're going to have to stay here."

"I'm fine now," Chad said. He stood up.

"Don't be stupid!" Isshin shouted, "You can't be with that much blood loss!"

"I'm fine. I have to be." Chad picked the birdcage and walked for the front door. Right before he fell he put the cage down beside the door as if the bird were the most important thing in the world. Chad then turned around. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell forward.

Isshin's voice was near singing as he said, "Time to get you to your bed." Ichigo and Isshin once more took Chad to the bed. Yuzu carried the birdcage and sat it down on a table near the bed. The partition was pulled to turn this area of the room into a smaller more private room. Karin kept starring at the cage. Karin ran from the room looking sick. Isshin went to check on other patients. Yuzu followed him. Only Ichigo and the bird were left near Chad. Chad's eyes were closed. Ichigo took the cage. He carried it away to the hall. He took it up stairs to his room.

Once his bedroom door was shut, Ichigo stared at the cage in his hands. "Alright, you!" Ichigo said to the bird, "What are you?"

"Ark! What are you? What are you?" the bird said.

Ichigo scowled at the cage. "Don't play dumb. I know you're more than a bird. I can sense it. What kind of spirit are you?"

"Arwk!" The bird moved about the cage.

Ichigo picked up the cage. He shook it. "I told you not to play dumb! My family could be in danger here! What are you?"

"Please mister," the bird's childlike voice said, "Don't do that!"

"Hah! I knew it!" Ichigo exclaimed.

"I can't tell you anything," the bird said. It went quiet, refusing to speak.

"Okay," Ichigo said, "If that's the way you want to play it-" It was Ichigo's turn to go quiet. There was a sound of footsteps from the hall. Ichigo quickly stuffed the birdcage into the closet.

Yuzu opened the door. She looked into the room. She smiled. "Oh," she said, "I thought I heard voices in heard voices in here. I guess I was mistaken."

Ichigo glared at her. "You mind knocking first?"

"I'm sorry." Yuzu walked out of Ichigo's room.

Ichigo could hear Karin's dry sarcastic voice coming from somewhere in the hall. "If there's voices in there," she said, "Maybe he was talking to himself. He might have gone crazier than Dad. Though I can't really see how that's possible."

"Both of you shut up!" Ichigo shouted. He slammed his door. He heard this time the laughter of both of his sisters which became more and more distant as the girls moved down the hall. Ichigo let an aggravated yell. "Nothing seems to be going right anymore," he said to himself, "Nothing!" Ichigo leaned his back against the door. He tilted his head up and scowled at the ceiling.

Ichigo was soon laying down on his bed staring at a different spot of the ceiling. _I've got to do something, _he thought to himself, _but what?…you can't deal with a problem if you don't have the right tools…the weapons… or maybe in this case the right powers…I don't even know what those monsters are…they attacked people I care about twice…that's two times I was defenseless…_Ichigo made a fist_…I hate this!_

There was a knock on Ichigo's door. Ichigo looked towards it. "Come in," he said.

It was Karin. She was carrying his book bag. "You left this downstairs," she said. She set the book bag down on the floor. Her gaze went to his closet. She went stiff. The fear, the anguish on her face was so strong. Karin looked sick. She ran out of Ichigo's room with great speed.

Ichigo out of bed. He chased after her into the hall. He was several steps behind her. Karin slammed the door to the room she shared with Yuzu. Ichigo didn't hesitate. He opened the door. He found her sitting on her bed. Karin had her knees bent, pulled up near her head. She had her arms wrapped around her legs. She looked freaked out. She was staring blankly. Her face was pale.

"Karin!" Ichigo shouted, "What's wrong?" He moved towards her. He sat beside her on the bed. He tried to hug her. Karin pushed him away. Ichigo looked at her with concern.

"The parrot," Karin said, "It's in your closet, isn't it? I go near it and I see something." Tears began to pour from her eyes.

_Karin never cries, _Ichigo thought, _she hasn't since... _Ichigo stared at Karin with a deep level of shock and worry.

"That boy," Karin said, "The spirit in the parrot…His mom…I keep seeing it." Karin unfolded herself. She sat up in a more normal position. She let Ichigo hug her. "His mom, she was murdered right in front of him. He's alone. He is all alone. He doesn't have to be… why won't someone save him? Tell that he can cross to the other side? His mother is waiting for there him…" Karin raised her voice in a shout. "I know she is! She has to be!" Great sobs shook Karin's body. She cried and cried. Her breath came out unevenly. Her voice was weaker. "Why won't some save him? Save him, Ichi…" Karin's voice became so soft that she could not be heard. She stopped speaking. She closed her eyes. She went limp against Ichigo.

"Karin," Ichigo said. His eyes were wide. His sister was asleep. He lifted her up. He pulled back the covers of her bed. He tucked her into bed.

_It was several years ago_, Ichigo thought, _that I last saw her crying face. Back then she cried as much as Yuzu did. Both of them were crybabies. When Mom died this changed. Yuzu took over the housework. Karin wasn't capable of that. She wasn't handy around the house like Yuzu. Karin didn't want us to worry. The least she could do was not cry. So she didn't, not once…Even when she was the first grade and got in a fight with sixth grader… Even in the second grade when the principal chewed her out for breaking a window by throwing a ball…Even in the third grade when she broke her leg on a hiking trip. Not once did she cry._

Ichigo touched his sister's head. He stroked her hair. "Don't cry Karin," he said, "I don't what I'm going to do. I don't know how I'm going to do it… but if its in my power to do it, I'll help that boy. So don't you cry."

Ichigo left the bedroom, closing the door gently behind him. _Am I really going to help that boy? __How am I going to? I can't break my word to Karin but…Is that spirit really a boy? If a man like Sora Inoue could become a monster like what I saw… _Ichico was so lost in though that he jumped when he heard a voice.

"Where?" the voice asked, "Where is the parrot?" It was Chad. He was moving up the stairs. He appeared ready to fall at any moment. His left hand was against the wall.

Ichigo's dad was right behind Chad. "Stop!" Isshin shouted, "Where do you think you're going?" Chad slumped down. Isshin grabbed him. Isshin looked up the stairs. "Ichigo, there you are! Would you help me?"

Ichigo helped his father move Chad slowly down the sounds of a bird squawk came from up in Ichigo's room. Isshin stared at Ichigo in a scolding manner. "You did take the bird. I didn't believe him." Isshin turned his head and shouted down the stairs. "Yuzu be a dear and fetch the bird from Ichigo's room would you? Your immature big brother stole it."

"Immature!" Ichigo yelled, "Like you're one to talk old man!"

In the little partitioned off hospital room downstairs Isshin and Ichigo helped Chad to bed. "You know," Isshin said too cheerfully, "I think this is the third time we've had to do this." In a more serious tone he said, "If you keep this up Mr. Sado, you're going to hurt yourself worse. You have got to stop this. You have to rest."

Yuzu brought the bird into the room. She put it back on the table like it was before. "I found it in Ichigo's closet." Yuzu said as she walked out.

Laying down on the bed, Chad looked up at Isshin. "I'm fine," he said, his voice low, weak, but determined, "I can't stay here."

Isshin shook his head. "You have to." Isshin tried to drag his son away from the room. Ichigo pushed him away, right into a wall. Looking dazed Isshin said a goofy voice, "You may stay a minute. Just don't take the bird again. We don't want our patient running after it. Do we?" Isshin left the room swaying sideways slightly. Isshin's last words in the room were, "If you want a bird son, I can always buy one later."

As soon as his father was gone Ichigo stared at Chad suspiciously. He spoke low to not be overheard. "What do you know about that parrot?" Ichigo asked, "Do you know about spirits?"

"Huh?" Chad said. His face showed a hint of confusion then resolve. "I cannot say."

"You can tell him what you know mister," the bird said, "He said you could."

"He who? I don't like the sound of that." Ichigo looked around the room. _That feeling, _he thought, _what is it? I'm somehow sensing… not good…_A monster much like the ones from before passed it's head through the wall like a ghost. Ichigo's face was filled with terror at the sight of it. "You- What are you?" Ichigo asked.

The monster stood high. It head touched the ceiling. It's arms were winged, similar to those of a bat. It had a white bone masked face. The shape of the mask was not remotely human. **"So many souls. Two strong ones. This will be a feast!" **the monster shouted, **"I'll start with the less appetizing one first. Yes, the larger boy will do for starters. I'll save the other, the best for last."**

"Feast?" Ichigo said, "What are you talking about?" He looked on in shock.

"**EATING YOUR WONDERFUL SOUL!" **The monster's was so loud, it was nearly an incomprehensible roar. Objects in the room shook as it screamed.

"No!" Ichico yelled, "You won't!"

"**What are you? If you can see you must be powerful. Not as strong though as a shingami! I killed two of those. They can't stop me. You can't stop me. There is no one here to save you. I will enjoy this." **The monster turned his ahead around. **"I sense other souls here. This truly will be a feast."**

"No," Ichigo said.

"What do you see?" Chad asked.

Ichigo was as white as a sheet with fear. His eyes went wider. His brows which had been going up now went as high as they could. "It's a monster of some kind," he said, "A spirit being. You have to believe me. It's real. It's talking about killing. It says it eats souls. I don't know what it is but I've seen these things before. We've got to get out of here. We have to get it out of here or-or- It'll turn this hospital room, this clinic, into a slaughter house!"

"I can't see it," Chad said, "but I believe you." Chad jumped out of bed moving toward Ichigo. The tall young man grabbed the birdcage. The orange haired one kept turning his head back to look at the monster that his friend couldn't see. The two boys ran out of the hospital room. They ran out of the clinic.

Outside the sun was down. The boys ran down the sidewalk passing street lights and telephone poles as they went. They managed to get two blocks over then stopped to rest for a moment.

"What's it doing? Chad asked.

"Following us," Ichigo said, "It's toying with us. I know it can move faster."

"_A hunt is it? A game?" _the monster asked. The monster took off into the air.

"It- it-" Ichigo gasped for breath. "It's taken flight. It's still moving way too slow. If it wanted to it could have killed us back in the clinic. It's getting some kind of perverted thrill out of this! It's coming faster!"

The boys took off running again to another street. Ichigo looked back. "It's flying right at us! It's coming faster. It-"

Chad stopped moving. He stood still. "It's flying, you say? Which direction?"

"Huh? What are you going to do?" Ichico said. He stood there waving a hand in the direction of the monster. "How are you going to stop it? The last time I encountered one these things I almost died. And that one couldn't fly!"

"That direction?" Chad said, "You better tell me. I can't see it. I need you to guide me." Chad pulled a telephone pole right out of the ground. Ichigo pointed as the monster came near. Chad slammed the telephone pole into the monster's chest sending it crashing to the ground. It began to move. Weird little creatures moving on four legs suddenly appeared.

"What are those things?" Ichigo said.

"**My artillery,"** the monster said in a pleased tone. The creatures jumped at Ichigo and Chad. The creatures hopped on to their backs. Ichigo and Chad were knocked down. They were pinned to the ground. The creatures' forelimbs were actually closer to arms than legs. One of the creatures began pulling at Ichigo's hair with appendages that were not quite hands.

"**It's time to eat!"** the monster shouted.

Chad rose up throwing the creatures off his back. He began punching at the air, taking some of them out with his fists.

"**Muscle for brains," **the monster said from its position lying on the ground, **"He's big. He's strong. He can't even see them. You can't hope to win! You're being ridiculous! What an idiot! What a pair of idiots! It's a good the size of the brain isn't an indicator of the size of the soul." **

Chad kicked the creatures off Ichigo's back. Ichigo winced. "Ow! You were hitting me too!" Ichigo said as he stood.

The creatures' hands pressed against the side of their own heads. A gapping hole appeared on the top of each creature's heads. Something poured out of their heads.

"Leaches!" Ichigo shouted. It was leaches. He was soon covered in them. "Ugh!" They were biting him. They were feeding on him. He brushed at them. He tugged at them. They wouldn't come off. They were on his hands. They were in his hair. They were on the school uniform he was still wearing.

"**Heh heh heh heh!"** The monster laughed. **"You're correct. Those are leaches. Once they are sucking on you, they are hard to get off."** The monster spread out it's wings as it stood back up. **"Those aren't ordinary leaches. Those are my targets!"**

The leaches exploded. Holes were torn in Ichigo's jacket and pants. Blood poured from his hands. Blood trickled down from above his head above the hairline. Ichigo fell to the ground.

"Ichigo, what happened?" Chad asked, "Are you aright. You're bleeding."

"That's right," Ichigo said, sitting up, "You can't them. Exploding leaches. I'm not kidding. That bastard's got creatures serving him that spit out leaches out of their foreheads."

As Chad bent down looking worriedly at Ichigo, one of the creatures grabbed the birdcage. The monster laughed. **"This is more fun than I've had in a long time. It's much more enjoyable when you have someone who can fully appreciate the trouble they're in. That's one of the things I liked best about killing when I still was alive. When I was human I killed five women that the news media knew about." **

"Shut your mouth!" Ichigo shouted at the monster. To Chad he said, "The monster's bragging about having been human once. A serial killer."

Chad stood straighter. "Shibata's birdcage… It moved?" From Chad's perspective there nothing visible to see except himself, Ichigo and the bird in its cage. It was as if the cage had just moved several feet.

"I'm sorry mister," the bird said, "I've been captured."

Chad's eyes went wide. His brows went down. Horrifying understanding dawned on his face.

"**Heheeehe!" **The monster laughed. **"Looks as if the dummy is not such a dummy. He realizes the truth. He will soon be dead. Then it will your turn Orange Boy!" **The monster put a leach on the birdcage.

"Don't move Chad!" Ichigo said, "I think's he's planning on blowing up the cage with of those leaches if you take a step forward."

"You not so dumb either, are you, Orange Boy?" the monster said.

"Don't call me that!" Ichigo yelled. His face went suddenly calm_. Maybe if I bluff and bluster a bit , _Ichigo thought, _Maybe_ _I can buy some time… but time for what? No time to think … just do… _Outwardly Ichigo smirked. "Oh well, I guess it's better than Carrothead or Carrot Top. I've called been worse. I have to know. What is your interest in the bird?"

"**Heheheh!" **The monster's laughter was loud. "You're a brave one!" The monster tapped its claws against the cage. "You called me a serial killer. The news media did too. It was back four or five years ago. I killed seven people that the news media knew of. I can't remember if I killed more. The news media had such a field day! They loved me." The monster tapped the cage again. "This brat's mother was the last person I killed. It was fun. No matter how many time I stabbed her she kept running. She was trying to protect her son right until the end. It was wonderful. I savored that kill!"

The monster's voice become angry. "But then things went wrong. I had followed her out onto the balcony. The boy, that brat! He grabbed my shoelaces. I lost my balance. I tripped. I fell from the balcony. It's because of that brat that I die! So I decided to play a game with the brat as punishment. I took his soul and force it inside a cockatiel in a cage. I gave him a mission." The monster held up three clawed fingers. "I told him that he has to run from me in his current form for three months. That if he does that I'll return her to life!"

"Return her to life?" Ichigo said, "Can you do that?"

"**You orange headed moron!" **the monster yelled, **"Of course not! No one can. But he didn't know that!"**

"He does now," Ichigo said.

The sound coming from the cage should not have been possible. It was a loud wailing sound that no bird should have been able to make. It was a very human sound, the cry of a grief stricken little boy. "Noooo! Mom! No!"

"**You rotten punk!" **the monster said, **"Look at what you made me do! Now the game is over! It was such a good one too. The highlight of this punishment game was of course that I killed everyone who tried to protect the brat. The brat would whine. A well done lie and he'd perk right up yelling 'Mommy! Mommy!' Now thanks to you that game may be up. I'll have to find something else to do with him!"**

"I didn't make you do anything you bastard!" Ichigo said, "You're the one with the loud mouth."

"**The time has come!" **the monster yelled. **"Time for you to die!" the monster charged at Chad and Ichigo.**

"Excuse me," someone said, "I don't think you want to be doing that." The person speaking from a previously unnoticed spot on a roof top. He was tall and lean. He had on a dark shirt and pants, over that was a black coat with a large white diamond pattern at the bottom His hair was blond. On his head was a green and white striped hat shaped like a bucket with a brim that halfway covered his eyes. He had stubble on his chin. He was carrying a cane.

"Another person who can see me?" the monster asked, "Who? What are you? You don't seem very strong. The big guy seems a stronger soul and he can't see me! Maybe I'll save you for later."

"I don't think so," the man said. He held the cane in both hands. The handle came free from the rest of the cane. There was a blade attached to it.

"A sword cane?" Ichigo looked on with an expression that was somewhere between tired and incredulous.

"Huh," Chad said, "Looks odd."

Ichigo's brows went up in further disbelief. "You see him?"

Chad nodded. "I can't see that monster though."

Ichigo stared. "He's not a spirit. He sure is dressed weird. That hat and those clogs."

"Shrieker is what I believe you are called," the man in the hat and clogs said, "You devoured two shinigami. There is a fairly high bounty reward out for you. I don't care for that. I'm here for other reasons. I am going to take you out."

"You and what army?" The monster began to laugh. "Heh heh heh heh…. That sword cane…Hee he hee he…What do you think you are? A shinigami?"

"Merely a shop keeper," the man in the hat and clogs said, "One who is trying to do a favor for an old friend. It is because of that friend that I am here."

The monster ran at the man. The man's sword slashed upward at the monster. It went through it "What?" the monster shrieked.

A set of double gates appeared out of thin air behind the monster. Attached to each gate was the upper torso of a giant skeleton. Each skeleton was missing an arm. One, its right. The other, it's left The shoulders where those arms should have begun touched. Above the fused shoulders of the skeletons were three chains up high across the gates.

"What on Earth is that?" Ichigo asked. His face was as pale as it had ever been. Fear had temporarily drained him of coloring.

The hand of each skeleton reached across its chest. Each opened the door it was attached to. A gigantic hand appeared in the gateway. The hand speared the monster on an equally gigantic blade. The monster was dragged shrieking into the fiery space beyond. The gates slammed shut. The gates then disappeared as if they had never been there.

"The monster is gone," Ichigo said to Chad, "It was like the gates of hell opened up or something."

"Yes," the man with the hat and clogs said. His voice was serious. "It is exactly like that." The man turned to face the birdcage. He bent down and examined it. His face and voice became suddenly cheerful. "What do we have here? A human soul inside a bird."

"Please," the voice coming from the parrot said, "Don't hurt me. That bad man took me away from my body. He told me he would send me back to it. He said he'd bring my mom back. Please."

"That is beyond the power of anyone," the hat and clogs guy said, "Your spirit has been disconnected from your body for too long. It is impossible to return it to your body."

"Your mother," Ichigo said, "She's waiting for you on the other side. She can't come here to this world anymore. You have to move on."

"If you stay here too long," the hat and clogs guy said, "then you will become something like what Shrieker was."

"Hang on a second, Mr. Hat and Clogs!" Ichigo shouted. He stood up. He pointed at the man. He scowled at him. "What do you mean?" Ichigo pointed at the birdcage. "If he's an innocent then there's no way he will wind up like that monster!"

"You don't know anything about hollows. Do you?" the man said, "All hollows were originally normal humans. The chain of fate connects a person to their body when they are alive. When they die if they do the chain may link to a person or a place When the chain is severed, it can not be remade. It corrodes. When the chain reaches the person's chest it disappears turning the spirit into a hollow. The boy's chain is slowly going down that path. If he is not sent on, he will someday become a hollow. Violent, angry or sad emotions that last for long will only hasten that process."

"I don't want to be like that bad man," Yuuichi Shibata said. The spirit in the bird body looked at Chad. "Hey mister, thank you. When you carried me around I didn't get hurt at all."

"It was nothing." Chad stepped up close to the birdcage. "When I die and go over there… is it all right if I carry you one more time?"

"Sure," the boy said. The face of a bird couldn't smile but the boy's voice sounded as if he was doing that.

Five minutes later Ichigo and Chad were looking off in one direction. The man with the hat and clogs was headed the other way with the birdcage in one hand and his cane in the other.

Ichigo yelled at the man in the hat and clogs, "Why didn't you wipe Chad's memory? That girl did it to my family and two other friends. Why not him? What's different?"

"There's no need!" the man shouted back, "He's seen and heard too much. It wouldn't have worked!" His voice faded into the distance…

Ichigo looked at Chad in annoyance. "I can't believe you gave him the bird and the cage. You have made a little money off it. Even without the boy's spirit gone, the bird still speaks better than most parrots." Blood was drying on Ichigo's face and hair.

"I don't need the bird," Chad said, "It's not Shibata anymore."

Ichigo stared at his wounds then Chad's. He glanced at his watch "It's past seven! Dad's going to ready to kill me! Or fight me. Come on. I'll tell what I do know about spirits as we go. It starts with the fact that I can see them. I don't know but…" Together, Ichigo and Chad walked back toward the Kurosaki Clinic.

* * *

NEXT TIME: HIS MOTHER'S GRAVE


	4. His Mother's Grave

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER FOUR: HIS MOTHER'S GRAVE

Orhime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa were sitting next to each other on a bed. It was Tatsuki's bedroom. It was Tatsuki's home. Orihime was dressed a in shirt trimmed with flowers, paired with a matching floral shirt. Tatsuki was wearing a basic black shirt and white pants. Because they were indoors and at a home, they had no shoes on. Tatsuki appeared deeply distressed. She stood up. She paced the floor.

"It's funny," Tatsuki said, "He used to be so different. I've known Ichigo since we were four. We met at a dojo. That orange hair… that goofy smile… he was so scrawny. He was so puny. He came to the dojo that first time, holding his mother's hand. She was pretty. He… he really was different. Not the same as today. He smiled a lot. He cried whenever he lost." Tatsuki made a fist. She smacked the fist inot her other palm. She smiled. "You know, at that dojo I was the first to make him cry."

Tatsuki held up a finger. "One blow. It didn't ten seconds that time. But you know, even though he cried, the moment he saw his mother… his face lit up. Every time she came to pick him up, he always smiled. I always thought he looked stupid then. A man who losses like that shouldn't be smiling like such an idiot! That's what I'd think when I saw that smile. "

Tatsuki back down on the bed. She looked away from Orihime. Tatsuki gazed out a window "He was spoiled. And he stuck to his mother like glue. But he looked so happy. He laughed so pleasantly." Tatsuki turned her head toward Orhime. "That was the beginning…"

On a road with chain link fences to either side, the Kurosaki family walked up hill.

"This is so hard," Yuzu said looking upset, "This hill is so tough." She was wearing a sleeveless dress with a skirt above the knees. A purse was draped across one of her shoulders.

"Really," Karin said, "This is easy to me." Her face was indifferent. She was dressed in a sports t-shirt and a pair of shorts. Her favorite ball cap was on her head.

"You can do it Yuzu!" their dad shouted, "Don't give up! Don't give in! Daddy is right behind you!" Isshin was several feet away from twins and down the hill some. He had a backpack on his back. Caryying that backpack made him look as if he thought he was going hiking. Unless one noticed his clothing which was businesses causal. It was all the articles of clothing that went with a suit, minus the jacket and tie. Some distance behind Isshin was his son Ichigo. Ichigo wore in a t-shirt with long sleeves underneath and a pair of jeans. He caught up with his father and scowled at him.

"Hey Yuzu," Isshin said, "Look at Daddy. Look at me. I can walk up this hill on my hands!" Isshin began to do what he said. He walked with his hands.

"Just ignore him!" Karin said loudly, "If you encourage someone like that it will never end."

"How naïve," Isshin said, "even if you don't look. I'll never stop."

"Run Yuzu!" Karin shouted. She grabbed Yuzu by the hand. The twins ran. They were soon at the top of the hill. Isshin and Ichigo joined them less than a minute later. Isshin was walking normally with his loafer covered feet instead of his barehands.

Karin put her hands on her hips. She glared up at her father. "That was a dirty trick Dad!" she said, "Don't think I don't know why you pulled that stunt!"

Her father looked at her confused for a second. Then a look of knowing came into his eyes. Isshin flashed her a goofy grin. "It got you up the hill quicker didn't it?" he said.

"I wasn't having any trouble!" Karin shouted.

There were woods and a cemetery up ahead. The sun was high in the sky. Ichigo looked up, wiping sweat from his brow. "It's hot," he said. An image went through his mind of rain. "Even though it's the same date, June the seventeenth, it's a hell of a lot different."

Back at Tatsuki's place, Tatsuki sat on her bed. Tatsuki spoke slowly and sadly. Orihime listened patiently Tatsuki folded her hands together. She stared at the floor. "Ichigo's mother died when he was nine. I was nine too, but that doesn't matter." Tatsuki put a hand over her eyes. "Even at nine, he was still spoiled. He still stuck to his mom like glue. But she died. Starting the next day he skipped school. I wondered where he was. What was he up to? So I went looking for him. He was at the riverbank where his mother died, carrying his school bag from morning to night."

Tatsuki put her hands in her lap. She bent over leaning. Her face was filled with sadness. "It was hard to see him that way," Tatsuki said, "It was like he was searching for his mother… He was never the same. They say grief changes people. I never understood until then… When his mother died…In many ways he was a different person after that."

The Kurosaki family stood in front of the grave of Masaki Kurosaki. Karin got on her knees and prayed. She smiled gently. _Are you doing well mom? Karin thought, Well, you're dead. I guess it's a stupid question. Yuzu and Ichigo are fine. I am too._

Isshin struck a pose with his legs spread out and his hands together raised over his head.. "Okay kids!" he said. "It's time for the annual Kurosaki family tombstone domino rally! First match up, Daddy versus Ichigo!"

Karin glared at her father. She went back to her praying. _Old beardo is doing so well that he's kinda annoying..._

"Stop it Dad!"Yuzu yelled at Isshin. "Ichigo make him stop!"

Ichigo ignored his father. Ichigo stepped closer to Karin. He stared down at his mother's grave. _I've always been able to see ghosts, _Ichigo thought,_ I always saw them so clearly…When I was a kid, I couldn't tell the difference between living and the dead…it didn't seem that big a deal…until that day. _Images flashed through Ichigo's head. His mind went back to that day…

_It was a rainy day. I was nine years old…I loved my mom… She always protected me… I always wanted to do the same for her…We were along the road. There was a railing beside us. Past that a short distance was the river. It had rained and rained the past several days… Despite this, there was a girl there without an umbrella. _Ichigo could see clearly in his mind the girl. She had short, perfectly even black hair and bangs. She wore clothing that was odd. There were deliberate stylized holes on the back of what was either a cloak or a cape. When she turned a bit he could see that it was actually a poncho. She appeared ready to jump into the river.

_I should have known the girl was dead… I didn't… I wanted to protect people… my sisters… my mom… even strangers… that's why I jumped the rail… I ran to help the girl… I can still hear my mother's voice yelling, 'Wait Ichigo!'_

_I fell. Mom was shouting, 'Don't Ichigo!' Every went black…. _Ichigo saw himself at age nine. His mother's body was on top of him. _To this day I don't know the cause…Maybe she got cut or maybe she hit her head… it was clear… Mom died tryning to save me… and the girl was no where to be seen…I loved my mom. It was not just me. Dad, Karin, and Yuzu did too. She was the center of our family…this my fault… I stole the center out from our family… I did this. It's all my fault!_

Ichigo looked around at cemetery. He stared at the grave. He ran from his family, towards the woods. He wandered about lost in thought. There was a sound of someone walking. He turned his head.

There was a little girl with even cut black hair and bangs moving around the trees deeper into the forest. Ichigo gazed at her in shock. It was the same face. It was the same clothes. It was the girl he remembered from this day six years ago when his mother died. "You! Wait!" Ichigo shouted. He ran after her. She did not slow down. He could not keep up. She disappeared further into the woods.

Ichigo stopped running. _Maybe I didn't' see her,_ he thought, if that was the same ghost what would she be doing here? What are the odds? Ichigo shook his head. _Ultimately it doesn't really matter… it doesn't matter if it was the same ghost or not… the mistake…the fatal mistake. It was mine… not hers…_Ichigo was walked slowly back to the cemetery. He was deep in the woods. It took him longer to get back then it to get there. He was in no rush as he moved. He took his time, thinking as he walked.

In the cemetery in a different area than their mother's grave, the twins sat on a set of steps. Yuzu cried. Karin scowled. "Geez," Karin said, "Can you be more of a crybaby? You've got to quit doing this. Every year this day you act like this. We're already eleven! Grow up some. Be more mature." Karin put a hand on Yuzu's shoulder.

Yuzu nodded at Karin. She took a deep breath. "I understand," Yuzu said, 'but I miss her. I-" Yuzu burst into tears again. She cover her face with her hands.

Karin moved away from her sister a bit. "That's not what I would call understanding," she said, "I'm not trying to be harsh. The world is just that way. You've to grow up some. She's gone. It was six years ago. I miss her too but-" Karin stopped speaking as she heard something. It was the sound of a whistle. Karin stood. "Come on, that was Beardo's whistle to gather us up. We've got to go!"

"Okay," Yuzu said.

Karin stared at a cliff off in the distance. There was a child walking toward the cliff. "What's that kid doing?" Karin asked.

"Huh? What kid?" Yuzu asked.

_If Yuzu can't see the kid_, Karin thought, _then the kid must be a ghost… _Karin walked over toward the cliff. When she got there spoke to the spirit. "What you doing starring over a cliff? If you got something you regret there's a priest that lives down the hill, so go there."

The spirit had even black hair. It wore a poncho. "You can see me?" the spirit said.

"Yup," Karin said, "I'm a person who sees. Don't tell anyone else. It's kind of embarrassing. I don't won't to be pestered by a lot of ghosts the way my brother is."

"You can hear me too," the spirit said, "How wonderful! How tasty!" The spirit turned around. A monster that Karin could only see vaguely was standing behind the spirit.

About five minutes later the sound of an extremely loud and horrible whistle greeted Ichigo as he made it back to his mother's grave. His father, Isshin was blowing air as hard as he could into a chicken shaped whistle.

Ichigo covered his ears. "Hey old man! Stop that! I can hear you even without the blowing!"

"Oh, you came Ichigo," Isshin said. He looked surprised.

"Yeah." Ichigo glared fiercely at his dad. He put a finger to one of his ears, rubbing at it. "What were you trying to do? Make me go deaf?" Ichigo turned his head left then right, looking for the twins. "Hey, where are they? Yuzu and Karin aren't here?"

"Not yet," Isshin said. His brows slanted down in worry. "I've been blowing this great Daddy's whistle too!" He held up the whistle which looked like a hen. "If you were the only one returning, I would have already gone home ahead of you."

Ichigo put his hands in his pockets. His glare was one born of pure irritation. "Oh really!"

Isshin looked his watch. "Where are they? They should be here by now."

Ichigo's eyes went wide. _That girl…_he thought, _that ghost… no I'm being ridiculous… but… _"Dad," Ichigo said, "I know you don't think much of ghosts. It's probably nothing, but I saw one a few minutes back. I think I saw her right before Mom died."

"What's that you said?" Isshin asked, "I didn't hear you. Speak louder."

"If you can't hear, it's because of that stupid whistle! You made yourself deaf old man!" Ichigo yelled. "I said I saw a ghost before mom died! I saw it again today!" More calmly Ichigo said, "Not all ghosts are good Dad. I've had three bad encounters during the past two months. Not all good spirits do good. Some are used as bait."

Ichigo's father looked at him confused. "What are you saying? An evil ghostie is after the girls? That's silly!" Isshin smiled his goofy grin. He blew into the whistle again. Ichigo snatched the whistle from his father. He scowled. "I'm not joking Dad."

Isshin reached for the whistle. "Give that back!"

Ichigo held the whistle up high. As his dad made a grab for it, he kicked him to the ground. "It's not a game," Ichigo said, "The more I think, the more I know it can't be a coincidence. It's the exact same date. We're miles from where Mom died!"

Isshin got on his knees. He began to stand up. Ichigo's grip on the whistle lessened. Isshin's gaze was locked on to the whistle. "You wouldn't!"

"Are you even listening to me, Dad?" Ichigo said, "Maybe this thing did make you deaf! You'd be better off without it." Ichigo let go of the whistle.

Isshin jumped and caught the whistle. He landed on the ground cradling it with his hands. He stood back up. He turned the whistle over in his hands. "There's not a single crack. Good. It's not broken!"

"Dad," Ichigo said, "I'm being serious."

"If it bothers you so much," Isshin said, "Then you can be the one to go look for them. I was going to suggest that before you started on about that crazy ghost stuff."

"What about you?" Ichigo asked, "Don't you care enough about them?"

Isshin grabbed Ichigo by the front of his shirt. Isshin matched his son glare for glare as he shouted, "How can you say? My precious daughters mean the world to me!" Isshin released his son's shirt. "The ability to see ghosts does not make you so special." Isshin grinned. "Now becoming a doctor, a healer like me… that would make you special!"

Ichigo's brows went up. "So you're not going to look?" Ichigo shook his head. "Unbelievable, he muttered, "Sometimes I can't see how we're related." Ichigo walked away from his father with an expression of disgust. "Fine, old man! Whatever. I'll look for them by myself!"

As soon as Ichigo was out of Isshin's sight, Isshin looked more serious. His face took on a look of intense worry. He blew the whistle with as much effort as he could.

The cemetery was large. It was vast. It went up and down a series of slopes. Woods surrounded much of the cemetery. It was hard for Ichigo to know where to look. He went down a set of steps during his search then back up. "Yuzu! Karin!" he shouted. The sound of a wailing noise going 'Pyroroo,' was the sound the whisle made. It was extremely loud. Ichigo heard it. He did not hear his sisters. He didn't see them.

Up higher in the cemetery Yuzu was listening to the whistle as well. She started yelling at Karin, "Dad's blowing the whistle again. Karrin-chan! He's calling us. What's wrong? Why aren't you coming?"

"Stay back!" Karin shouted, "Don't come any closer." Karin's face was pale. She was looking at the spirit. "What is that thing behind you?" she asked it, "What are you?"

"Yes," the spirit said, "You can see that much? You are good." There was a slight smile on the spirit's face. It was not a pleasant sight. The spirit's eyes were eerily void of emotion. Standing behind it was enormous unnatural beast that moved on all fours. It's head alone was taller than a man. It's head was strange and inhuman, a bone white mask. It was a flat face with holes for a nose. On each side of the nose were three other holes, marks like upside down commas. It's eyes were huge, inhuman in the way that it stared.

The beast moved fast on it's four legs. It's claws dragged Karin down to the ground. She landed chest down in the grass.

Yuzu could not the see the monster or the spirit. To her it was if her sister had just fallen without reason. Yuzu ran to Karin. She got on her knees. She couldn't see the claw that was on top of her sister's back. "Karin-chan! Karin-chan!" Yuzu screamed out her sister's name.

Yuzu's hand touched Karin's back. She could not see what there but she could feel it. Yuzu's hands went along the claw. "Something is on top of Karin," Yuzu said. Her hands moved up higher feeling the leg. "What is this?" she asked. "What…What could it be?"

Something slid out of one of the comma like holes in the beast's face. It was a tentacle. The tentacle wrapped around Yuzu's neck. It lifted Yuzu high up in the air. She grabbed helplessly at her throat.

The spirit that appeared to be a child was standing beside the beast. "This brat," the spirit said "is nothing but a nuisance. She has no spirit energy. She has no powers. I only want to eat the dark haired one!" The spirit looked up at Yuzu. "Pieces of trash like you aren't even decent appetizers but you are an eyesore. I'll eat you first!"

A sword slashed at the tentacle. "You won't be eating anyone today!" the sword's wielder shouted. It was a man in a black hakama with a long white fabric tied to the should. It was Isshin. As Yuzu fell Isshin grabbed her with his left hand, carrying with his arm. His right hand held the sword. He moved at the monster, the hollow. He cut off its claw. Isshin grabbed Karin. His left arm was haphazardly wrapped around both of his daughters. He moved away from the hollow.

"A shinigami!" the child spirit said.

Isshin paid no attention to the spirit. He looked down at his daughters. "It's okay," he said, "Daddy's got you!" He moved fast. Once he was several feet away from the hollow he slowed. He stopped. He let go of his daughters dropping them as gently as he could to the grass covered ground.

"Daughters?" the spirit asked. "I might be able to understand how this could be with the dark haired one. The other brat however…She is so weak! Your energy is so strong."

Isshin turned around to face the hollow. "They are both my daughters. You will not take them, the way the you did their mother."

"Their mother?" the child spirit asked.

"Six years ago," Isshin said, "You killed my wife."

"Did I?" the child spirit asked, "I don't remember that far back."

Isshin looked at the child spirit. "I know what you are," he said.

Ichigo ran up a set of steps in the cemetery. He saw the monster first then the black hakama. Ichigo's eyes went wide with shock. _Dad!_ he thought, _it can't be! How? _Ichigo watched as Isshin was about to put the sword through the spirit that looked like a little girl. "Dad! No!" Ichigo yelled, "You can't!"

Isshin turned his head toward Ichigo. "It is not what you think, son," he said.

Ichigo pointed at the child spirit. "That's the ghost I saw before Mom died!"

"You saw me before?" the child spirit asked, "You are lucky."

"It's not a kid," Isshin said, "It is not what it appears to be!"

"What else could it be?" Ichigo said, "It's under the hollow's control or something. A kid ghost I met let last month was like that!"

Isshin's back turned away from the hollow. The moment this happened the hollow rose up on its back legs. A large circular hole could be seen in the center of it. Its remaining front claws stretched like vines or tentacles. The claws went straight through the black clothing into Isshin's back. Tentacles came out from all six of the comma like holes. The tentacles wrapped tightly around Isshin's chest pushing his arms against his body so that his arms could not lift up the sword in his hand.

"Dad!' Ichigo shouted.

The childlike face of the spirit took on a cruel expression. It suddenly did not seem very childlike anymore. "You really should have listened to your father. You were a lucky one but-"

The child's head split open. The split went down the middle of the face, splitting it in half. The hair and skin at the top began to slip revealing a round white bone shape. There was a hole on the top. The split continued down the rest of the body. The skin around the eyes slipped down over the eyes. A long tube like shape stuck out of the hole at the top of the head. As the skin fell further it became plain to see, that the split was on both sides of the body. The skin completely fell away. The form underneath was strange. A skeleton head without a lower jaw was attached to something vaguely reminiscent to the shape of shoulders. The shoulders in turn were attached to a body that was shaped like a stretched out accordion. At the end of that was two cloth like fins.

"What the?" Ichico looked on in shock.

The new monster stretched out its white tentacle. It floated up off the ground. The tentacle linked to a hole at the top of the larger one's head, showing that it was not a new monster after all but an extension of the old. The large monster spoke, **"Your luck has run out!"**

"That kid," Ichigo said, "What happened?"

"**Hee hee heee!" **The monster laughed, **"You still can't see it," **the hollow said, "**You don't understand! There was no kid. Your father was right!" **The monster instantaneously grew a set of claws in the place where an older set had been recently cut off. **"That kid was me! That was my lure!"**

The tentacles that were wrapped around Isshin grew tighter and tighter squeezing him. Abruptly all but one stopped. The last tentacle uncurled, throwing Isshin to the ground. As Isshin stood up, the hollow moved the appendage on its head, swinging down it down in front of its face. The appendage changed form turning into a form that Isshin and Ichigo both knew. The wavy brown hair. The kind eyes. It was the appearance of Masaki Kurosaki, the deceased wife of Isshin and mother of Ichigo.

"Surprised?" the hollow said, "I said I didn't remember anything from six years ago. I didn't have to." The hollow held up its left front claws. The skin around the tips of the claws split. "When I use the claws of this hand I can dig into an enemy's memories. With these claws I can search for an image of the one thing they will not cut."

The monster held up the new right front claws. "And with this hand, I create a thing similar to that." The hollow flexed and twitched its claws. It shifted to stand on all fours. **"Even the most cold hearted shingami have someone they would not cut. That inevitable. By rooting that out I've swept aside every shinigami I've met until now." **The hollow lifted up a claw again pointing at Isshin. **"And for you," the hollow said, "that person ought to be her!"**

"Isn't that right Isshin!" The voice that spoke was identical to that of Masaki. The face that looked like hers stared at Isshin and then Ichigo.

_Mom! _Ichigo thought, _it look likes her. It sound likes her!_

Isshin charged at the false Masaki. He stopped just inches in front of it.

"Please," she said, "Sheathe your sword. Don't hurt me, my love."

"You don't know how many times I wanted to hear that voice again," Isshin said, "But you are not her! Not anymore than you were that little girl! This lie ends now!" He swung the blade cutting the false form in half.

Tears came from Ichigo's eyes. _Why am I crying? I know it isn't her… It can't be… But that face… that voice… _Ichigo wiped at his eyes. His brows went down in anger. "Take that hollow out, Dad! Get rid of it! He made a mockery of Mom!"

"**NO! MY LURE!" **the hollow's voice boomed. The appendage coming from its head faded away even to the tentacle like part of at the top. **"NO! NOOO!" **The hollow fled at a speed much faster than a human could keep up with. Isshin appeared ready to run after it. He stopped. He looked at the unconscious forms of Karin and Yuzu who were lying on the ground where he put them.

"Aren't you going to after him?" Ichigo asked.

"No," Isshin said, "Tending to the living is much more important than the avenging the dead." Isshin sheathed his sword.

Ichigo walked up to Isshin. He yanked at his hair.

"Ow!" Isshin backed up. He rubbed at his head. "What did you do that for?"

Ichigo glared. "Who you are? What have you done with my dad?"

Isshin scowled at his son. "Now, what do you mean by that?"

"You're acting so serious," Ichigo said, "Too serious!"

Isshan laughed. "It's me. You don't know everything about your old man. Daddy has centuries more experience than you!"

"That's a gross exaggeration surely?" Ichico rolled his eyes. He stepped over toward the twins. He picked and carried Yuzu. He started for the steps to go down hill.

Isshin took Karin. "Hey!" he called out to Ichigo, "What's the big idea!" His voice took a overly theatrical tone. Leaving your poor wounded to do heavy lifting. I'm hurt! Both figuratively and literally. Oh, how did I raise a boy to be so thoughtless?"

"Yeah, you're him I guess," Ichigo muttered just a little too loudly as Isshin came near.

"What do you mean you guess?" Isshin asked. "How can you say that? What kind of son are you?" Isshin chased Ichigo down the steps.

Isshin did not keep up the pace for long. He was panting. He was grimacing from genuine pain. Ichigo was quickly far ahead of his father. He reached where the spot where they had been earlier. He found the chicken shaped whistle on the ground, the one that his dad had seemed so pathetically fond. He saw the backpack that was better suited for hiking. Then he came across something that had him reeling in shock.

When Isshin reached him, Ichigo was pointing at a spot. "Do you want to explain that?" There on the ground, was a unconscious looking version of Isshin who was dressed in the modern clothing he had worn earlier.

The hakama dressed Isshin nodded. His face went grim. "I'll explain everything. Everything that I'm willing and able to. You'll have to give me some time though. I wasn't planning on this today." The hakama clad Isshin placed Karrin on the ground. The Isshin wearing the hakama stepped directly into the other Isshin. Soon there was only one version to been seen. It was the more normally dressed version. Isshin opened his eyes and sat up.

Within the next few minutes Ichigo and Isshin were walking on the road downhill each carrying one of the twins. On either side of the road there was the chain link fences that they had passed on the way up. Behind a fence, there was something in the woods. It was something that moved. Something with large eyes watched the father and son. It's eyes all but burned with rage.

* * *

NEXT TIME: HIS FATHER'S CONFESSION!


	5. His Father's Confession

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER FIVE: HIS FATHER'S CONFESSION

Ichigo Kurosaki carried his sister Yuzu on his back. His father walked beside him to the right. Isshin held in his arms his daughter Karin, Yuzu's twin. Both girls were unconscious, appearing asleep. To the left of Ichigo was a chain link fence. An identical fence was to the right on the other side of Isshin. Ichigo and Isshin were walking down a steep hill.

"Daddy thinks you are being unfair to him!" Isshin shouted.

Ichigo glared at him. "In what part of the world is it okay for you to talk to yourself in the third person?"

"I can get away with because I'm Daddy!" Isshin boasted.

Still scowling Ichigo nodded. "Yeah, you're back to normal." he said. Under his breath Ichigo added "Or what passes for normal with you!" _Or is he_? Ichigo thought, _how well do I know my dad? I've seen him sort of serious when dealing with medical stuff…he doesn't goof around when it's a matter of life and death but_… Images appeared in Ichigo's mind of Isshin in a black hakama with a sword in hand._ I've never seen him like that… what is he… He's acting now as if it didn't happen… he's acting…no it can't be… no one could pretend to be that ridiculous for so long…what happened earlier was just another side to him…one I haven't seen before…_

Karin opened her eyes. "Dad?" she said, "What's going on?"

"It's okay sweetie," Isshin said, "I've got you."

"That's kind of the point," Karin said slowly, "I repeat 'what's going on?' There was a monster, Dad. I couldn't see clear but it was there. Then you were there with a sword. And you…" Karin's brows went up confused. "You saved me?"

"Wow!" Isshin said smiling in a goofy way, "Me with a sword? That sounds like an action movie! That must have been some dream! Was I dashing? Was I brave? Did I look as buff as Arnold Schwarzenegger used to?"

"Brave and dashing," Karin muttered, "Not the dad I know."

"What the hell, old man!" Ichigo yelled giving his father his fiercest glare, "You know full well that wasn't a dream! You're not going to pretend like it never happened!"

"It was real?" Karin's voice was questioning.

"Yes, Karin," Ichigo nodded. "It was.

"That monster…" Karin looked worried.

"It's gone," Ichigo said, "It escaped. They're called hollows. Evil spirits, stronger than normal ghosts. They're capable of having a physical impact on this world."

Isshin's face become somewhat serious. "There's more to it then that," Isshin said, "But that's a good general gist of it."

"Well maybe someone should tell me more of what's going on!" Ichigo yelled at his dad. "Just so you know Dad, that someone is you!"

"I told you," Isshin said, "I'll explain it to you later. Not here. Not in the open." Isshin's face took on a look of mock sadness. "You wound me! You don't even trust your own father!"

"Why should I?" Ichigo asked.

Tears poured down Isshin's face. It was completely and obviously insincere. It was that ability of his to cry on demand. "That my own son does not trust me! Oh, oh, oh!"

Karin glared up at Isshin. "If you're going to carry on like that, then stop carrying me! Put me down! I can walk!" Karin got down from her father's arms. She stood starring at him. She crossed her arms. "You're pathetic!"

Isshin glanced back and forth between Karin and Ichigo. "Both of you against me? Where did I go wrong? Wher-" The goofiness in his voice stopped. He winced. He bent over.

"Dad," Ichigo said, "You aright?"

"Just a little bit of pain," Isshin said. He slid the backpack off his back. Ichigo's brows went up, seeing something red on the backpack. Ichigo moved nearer to his father, eyes going wider as he saw his father's back. There was blood soaking through his father's shirt. The blood was all over the upper back.

"Dad, that looks the place where the hollow hurt you in that other form," Ichigo said, "Your injuries…?"

"Yes," Isshin said, "It transfers over." He shrugged, then winced again.

"What injuries?" Karin asked.

"The one's he got fighting that hollow," Ichigo said "I've never seen anything like it. I thought exploding leeches were something. That girl…that lure. The way he mocked Mom."

Karin looked at Ichigo as if he were crazy. "Leeches? Girl? What are you talking about?" she asked.

_How do I explain this… without looking crazy, _Ichigo thought, _if I were in Karin's place… if I had only seen a little bit of the stuff I have I wouldn't believe me…Hmm, maybe that's why Dad's hesitating… he's bound to have seen way more than me… Don't think about that… that way leads to questions I can't get answers to yet…_

Karin was starring impatiently at Ichigo. He stared back awkwardly. _I think better try to answer Karin's questions…_

Aloud, Ichigo said, "Not counting today I've seen three hollows. One of them had the power to generate creatures that could spit out leeches that could explode. Remember that night last month when I helped Chad escape the clinic for a while? When I came back home late with Chad, I was all beat up. My hands and head were bleeding. There were holes in my school clothes Do you remember?"

Karin nodded. "I thought you were getting in another stupid fight."

"That was," Ichigo continued speaking, "because of those leeches. It was not a fight. Dad might be able to fight those things but I can't. It's either run or get killed. Each time I've been extremely lucky. What makes this worse is that every hollow I've seen has been stronger or in some other way more powerful than the one before. This last one had the power to make an extension of its self that looked like a normal spirit."

"The girl," Karin said, figuring it out, "That girl was this hollow monster."

"It called it a lure," Ichigo said, "I saw that thing long before I knew about hollows. It was-"

Isshin stood straighter. Interrupting Ichigo, he said, "Son ,I forbid you from speaking any further of this, in front of your young and impressionable sister. I refuse to let you frighten her any further."

Karin glared at her father with a look that bordered on lethal intent. "Young and impressionable!" she yelled, "Nobody talks like that anymore Dad! What you are trying to pull? What are you trying to hide?"

_I'm not some little kid, _Karin thought, _I'm not! _Through Karin's mind ran the images of the fight, what she saw before passing out. _That monster was going to kill me. When Dad showed up he said something to it. It was… Mom! He spoke like the monster did something to her… "_I see now," Karin said out loud. Her face was pale. "I know what you're hiding Dad. You gave the secret away yourself. I heard you as I passed out. That thing killed Mom."

"What?" Ichigo was shocked, "I didn't know." _Why didn't I see this, _Ichigo thought, _all the facts have been in front of me for the past half hour… it was like a puzzle… why didn't I put it all together? It's worse than Karin knows… if that thing killed mom… it ate her soul!_

"This is not the place to talk about these things," Isshin said, "Come on. Let's go home. We'll talk later." Isshin moved down the hill ahead of his children. The blood on the back of his shirt was spreading.

Ichigo tilted his head toward the ground. His dad's backpack was on the ground. "Hey Karin," he said, "You might want to grab that."

"Why don't you?" Karin asked.

"I've my hands full with Yuzu," Ichigo said. Yuzu was still unconscious. She was on his in a piggyback sort of way. He stand in a position that was not exactly straight into to keep her securely on his back. She was not awake so she could not deliberately wrap her arms around his neck. Instead her arms were draped loosely over his shoulders.

Ichigo glared at Karin and then at the backpack. "You'll pick it up now!" Ichigo said in a commanding tone. His face and voice softened. "There's a first aid in the pack. Dad's going to need it. He needs it now but he's too much of idiot." Ichigo's usual scowl was quickly back on his face. He marched down hill at a fast pace going after his father.

Ichigo soon caught up with Isshin. Karin picked the backpack. It was heavy. She nearly tripped from the unexpected weight. She dragged it. She had to run to catch with her family. Ichigo walked several feet past his dad. He nearly reached the end of the hill. He sat Yuzu down against the chain link fence that was on his left side if he was going down hill. Ichigo turned around. He went back up the hill a little. He then stood waiting for his father to come the rest of the way toward him.

When Isshin came near, Ichigo moved to stand directly in front of him less than a foot away. He held up a hand as if to say stop. "You are not going any further Dad," Ichigo said, "Not until you let me look at your back."

"There's no need," Isshin said nervously. He grinned a goofy grin. "I'm fine. I'm perfectly fine. There's no need."

Ichigo looked at his father skeptically. He raised a brow. "Really? If it were me or Karin or Yuzu you wouldn't be so causal about it. No, you be doing your job as a doctor should. But you can't treat yourself." Ichigo crossed his arms. "Dad, you can't go to other extreme and say nothing's wrong. You're fooling no one. You're having a hard even standing straight. Dad, we need to get your back looked at. Bandages frm first aid kit will do for now. Maybe later the Karakura General Hospital."

Isshin put his hands up in protest almost as it was self-defense instead. He smiled that goofy grin then winced again from pain. "I'm fine," he said once more, this time in a less than energetic voice. "I'll be okay. I don't need medical treatment. I've dealt with much worse before. I'm okay."

Ichigo grinned in a way that came closer to a smirk. "I think you're protesting too much."

Karin came up behind Isshin with the backpack. She pulled out a small box, the first aid kit. Ichigo took it. A minute later Isshin's shirt was off. He was facing up the hill. He was looking teary eyed. "Ow! Ow! OW!" he shouted, "That hurts!"

Isshin's daughter Karin was rolling her eyes at him. "Dad, don't act like a baby! Really," Karin said, "it's embarrassing when the kids act more grownup than the parent."

Ichigo stared in horror at the wounds on his dad's back which were not that wide but appeared deep. There was the beginnings of bruises going in circles, in rings around Isshin's chest and back. The bruises were shaped like the tentacles that had earlier tried to squeeze Isshin. Ichigo pressed at the open wounds with gauge trying to stop the blood from flowing out.

"OW!" Isshin said, "Ow! Would you stop? That hurt!

"Seriously Dad," Ichigo said, "The wounds themselves have got to be hurting much worse than my touch. You caried that stupid backpack. That had to be a lot worse! You didn't complain then. You didn't even act like it hurt!" Ichico shook his head.

"OW!" his father said, complaining again. Suddenly his father went quiet. In an instant Isshin was alert standing up ramrod straight looking at the fence opposite from the one Yuzu was laying against. He was looking serious and grim.

"What is it Dad?" Ichigo asked worried. A second later he was gazing just as alert and intense at the fence. "What am I feeling? What is this?"

Isshin looked at his son surprised for a second. "You can sense it?" he said, His face went grim again. "It's a hollow. It's coming near." Isshin raised his voice to a shout. "It's coming this way!"

As Isshin yelled the hollow came into view on the other side of the fence in the woods. It was the beast like one Isshin fought up in the hill in the cemetery. It jumped the fence to land in the middle of the road. Its claws were standing in the middle of the road. It was block the way off the hill. Yuzu still not awake was on the other side. **"You!" **It yelled in a puzzled tone, "**You look like the shinigami I fought. Yet you don't feel like it. You have the same wounds that I gave the shinigami. Yet the shingami was strong You have no spirit power? No! You are hiding it!"**

Isshin stood there with his shirt off. The open, bleeding wounds on his back were visslabe to anyone who looked. Isshin stood facing the monster. "Ichigo, Karin," he said, "I want you to do something for me. This big hill we've been coming down…I want you to go back up it. I want you to head for the woods. Now, run!"

"No Dad!" Ichigo yelled.

"**Is all you can say?" **the hollow asked. **"No Dad! No Dad!" **it tauntingly mocked. "**You sound like a broken record."**

Isshin let out a small noise, a murmur of sound. It was a stifled scream. The expression on his face became very intense. A head that looked exactly like Isshin's emerged from the existing one. It was another version of Isshin that stepped out of the one standing on the hill. This version was dressed in a black hakama with a sword in its sheath at his waist. A long piece of white fabric frayed at the edge was tied to the shoulder of his outfit. The body he left behind fell backwards to the ground, hitting the pavement of the road. The version standing still had the injuries. The back of his clothing was torn where the monster had earlier sunk its claws into him.

The Isshin in the black hakama began to his unsheathe the sword. The beast like hollow had hair, fur all over its body. Strands of this fur grew out and grabbed Isshin's hand stopping the hand from drawing the sword. The hollow came closer. "You destroyed my lure!"

"Kid," Isshin said to the hollow, "You're not that great. If I wasn't injured, if there weren't others nearby I could take you out with ease."

The hollow's stretched out fur tossed Isshin up in the air. Isshin had to twist not to hit his head and kneck on the barbs at the top of the chain length fence. He looked for a moment as if he was going to go over the fence. His back hit high against the steel metal of fence making it ring with sound. His body slid down to the pavement with a loud thud. Isshin looked at Karin and Ichigo. "Get out of here, now!"

Karin ran higher but she didn't go all the way up the hill. She watched on in fear.

Ichigo moved only a short distance from his dad and the hollow. His gaze was fearful as his sister's. _There's nothing I can do! _Ichigo thought, _Dad's right. All I can do is run…that's all I've ever been able to when facing these things… but if I leave… Dad's going to get killed… can a spirit be killed? I'm pretty certain that's what Dad is right now… he's bleeding… those wounds…the blood…there's nothing I can do! No! _

Isshin rose up looking off balance. "That was a good trick. If my reflexes weren't a bit off though it wouldn't have worked. You're not that good."

"**Not that good!" **the hollow yelled, **"I've killed other shinigami. I'm the strong one here not you. You destroyed my lure. No one has ever done that before. I didn't even know if I could make another one or not."**

"If you could make anther one," Isshin said leaning against the fence, "Then where is it?"

Ichigo's attention shifted to the shirtless version of his father that was out cold on the pavement. _Dad's body! He's going to need that…here's something I can do… _He ran toward it. Two tentacles out of comma like holes in the monster's mask. One tentacle grabbed Ichigo by his left leg. The other grabbed the shirtless version of Ichigo's dad around the waist.

The hollow brought the soulless body of Isshin near its head. **"This has no soul. How worthless!" **The hollow tossed the body over its head. The soulless body went flying over and past the body of the hollow. The body of Isshin landed near Yuzu.

The tentacle holding Ichigo's leg lifted up, turning Ichigo upside down. Ichigo was soon over six feet up the air.

"**You boy," **the hollow said, "**You're interesting. Your spirit seems slightly stronger than before."**

Isshin drew his sword. He raised it high. "Put him down."

"**You want him?" **the hollow asked, **"You can have him!" **The hollow threw Ichigo directly at where blade was. Isshin moved his sword down to his side. Ichigo landed on top of Isshin, sending them both down to the ground.

Isshin gasped with pain and effort as he shoved Ichigo off of him. Isshin was slower in standing. Ichigo got on his feet faster than his dad did. The moment Ichigo was standing, one of the hollow's tentacles grabbed him by his left arm, twisting the arm in the process. There was a horrible cracking sound as Ichigo's arm broke. Ichigo screamed from the pain.

"**A broken arm?" **the hollow said, **"That was an accident. A lucky one. Lucky for me. Not so much for you! That gives me ideas. I don't see I don't just break every bone in your body!" **Four more tentcise came out of the came out of their coma like holes. The six tentacles were moving together toward Ichigo. The tentacles abruptly stopped as if they hit something. A very transparent wall was between Ichigo and the hollow. It was not a wall, so much as a bubble. It surrounded Ichigo. The tentacles slapped uselessly at the bubble.

Isshin was on his left knee kneeling. His left hand was held up. His right hand held the sword point down supporting his wait. Sweat was pouring down his face

"**You did that! Shinigami!" **the Hollow yelled, "**You destroyed my lure. You ruined a bit of fun! You won't get a chance to do anything else!"** It charged at Isshin. It's tentacles reached out toward Isshin. The bubble around Ichigo disappeared. Isshin rose up fast and cut off all six of the hollow's tentacles at once.

"**Nooo! NOO!" **the hollow shouted.

"Isshin, my love," a voice said that sounded like Masaski, Isshin's deceased wife. The voice was coming from the fence behind Isshin. He turned his head. Strands of the hollow's fur reached out and grabbed at Isshin's right arm, the arm holding the sword. There wasa cracking sound as bones broke. The hand wrapped around the hilt let go. The sword dropped to the pavement.

"You know," the hollow said, "I think killing you would be too easy. I'll make you suffer first."

Isshin was grimacing in pain and agony. His expression changed as he forced a smile on his face. A slight chuckle came from his throat that was just forced. "If you mean to make scream, it won't work."

Yuzu opened her eyes. She moved her head a little, turning it left and right. "Ichigo?" she said, "Dad! Ichigo what happened to Dad? Why's he on the ground?" Yuzu continued looking around "What's that blurry thing up against the fence?" She pointed across the road.

"He He Heee Hee Heee" the hollow laughed right in the face of Isshin who was pinned against the fence exactly where Yuzu was pointing. The hollow's stretched out fur lifted Isshin up in the air. The hollow threw Isshin over the fence. The hollow moved over to Yuzu. Yuzu being unable to see hollows and hardly able to see normal spirits, was unknowingly face to with the hollow.

Ichigo ran toward the hollow. He picked up his father's sword. His left arm hanging usually at his side, he slashed at the hollow with the sword in his right hand.. The hollow dodged his attack. Ichigo swung the blade again. Once more the hollow dodged it. Ichigo holding on to the blade kept swinging. He kept taking steps backwards.

"**Give up boy!" **the hollow yelled, "**You're no shinigami! You can't hope to defeat me!"** The hollow ran past Yuzu, pursuing Ichigo instead.

_I'm not trying to defeat it! _Ichigo thought, _I'm trying to get it away from Yuzu… and it seems to working! _Ichigo running backwards reached the end of the hill. The hollow was almost upon him.

Isshin stood up. He started to the climb the fence. A body that looked Masaki wearing a long poncho appered beside him. Isshin could only climb with one hand and his feet. As he climbed higher the false Masaki grabbed at his feet. He kicked her away. "You defile the form of my dead wife," he said quickly, "I haven't got time to deal with you." He grimaced as he moved the fingers of his right hand. The false Masaki's arms became bound behind her back. Isshin continued his climb. With a speed that would have astonished the average person he was over the fence and on the road in under ten seconds. Isshin moved with lighting speed down the hill.

Ichigo was facing the hollow. The hollow was staring down at him with its creepy unexpressive eyes behind the bone mask face. It's voice was highly amused. "You really think you have a chance, boy? I must admit you have the highest energy I've met in someone not a shinigami. You have the strongest spirit energy I've ever sensed in someone still living. But that does not make you my equal. You are not even the equal of the weakest shinigami I ever killed! You can't win!"

"I don't have to," Ichigo said, as he saw his father coming behind the hollow. As his father came up beside the hollow, Ichigo threw the sword. "Here Dad, catch!"

With his left hand Isshin caught the sword. He swung it down, cutting the hollow in half. The hollow screamed, then faded away.

Isshin sunk to his knees. He smiled a smile that was not his usual goofy grin. His eyes looked sad and tired. "I've gotten rusty," he said, "I let myself get distracted. I made mistakes that only beginners make."

Isshin looked up at his son. "I promised I'd explain some things to you Ichigo."

Ichigo looked his dad in disbelief. "You going to tell me now?"

"I better while I feel like doing so," Isshin said, "I can't tell you much right now. The basics are simple. I am a shinigami, son. The word means death god but the meaning comes closer to soul reaper or psychopomp. I've been living in exile for the past twenty years. The reasons for that I do not care to speak about. Know this, Ichigo, you are the son of a shinigami and a living human. That is something very uncommon."

Isshin turned his head to look up hill. "That body over there that looks like me? You have to bring it to me quickly. We have to get out of here fast."

"What?" Ichigo looked confused.

"Just trust me," Isshin said, "Get your sisters down here. Someone will be coming any minute now. Best case scenario it will be the shinigami who was assigned to patrol Karakura Town. Worst case means half a squad or more showing up. I do not want to explain to anyone how it is I am alive and living among humans. That body over there suppresses my powers. Bring it to me."

Ichigo did as asked. He had to drag the body slowly. Ichigo's left arm was too broken for anything else. His sisters came running down hill as fast as they could. Karin in spite of being higher, was faster. Yuzu was dazed looking. "My head hurts," she said, "I feel dizzy." She appeared

When Ichigo brought his father the body, Isshin was too weak to stand. He had to crawled to enter the body. The hakama clad version of Isshin into the shirtless version. The shirtless but otherwise normal dressed Isshin opened his eyes. He lay there. For a second he looked up at three of his children who were staring down with worried expressions. He smiled a goof grin. Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out.

Ten minutes later on the road out in front of the hill there was an ambulance parked. Isshin was being carried on a stretcher by two paramedics. "I'm a great hero. I am! I am!" Isshin said, his voice sounding loopy.

"He's delirious!" one of the paramedics said.

Ichigo stood with Karin and Yuzu, watching the paramedics load Isshin into the back of the ambulance. "Son!" Isshin shouted, "Look after your sisters! When you get to the hospital ask for the manager. Tell him everything you saw today. Tell him about what I told you!" As one of the paramedics closed the door, Isshin yelled out, "Let him know I'm at his hospital!" The ambulance then drove away.

Five minutes after that there was no human on or near the hill that went up to the cemetery. There was however one shinigami in a black hakama. She was a girl with shoulder length black hair. One strand of her fell near the center of her face. She was small and short of stature. She had out an electronic device which was visually at odds with her historical look. _This doesn't make any sense,_ she thought, _according to this there should be a hollow right here!_

* * *

NEXT TIME: THE LAST OF A BLOODLINE!


	6. The Last Of A Bloodline

IMPORTANT NOTES FOR THOSE WHO ARE CANNON OBSESSED: Not everything follows the rules of cannon. Extra things may be added for narrative purposes or the rule of cool. There just isn't enough cannon information on certain characters and places.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER SIX : THE LAST OF A BLOODLINE

It was nighttime. The large multi-story building was the Karakura General Hospital. Places like the Kurosaki Clinic could treat the smaller injuries. But the clinics could only handle a lighter number of people. It was the Karakura General Hospital that handled the larger crowds and the more serious injuries. In a small examination room in the hospital's Emergency Room, Yuzu sat on a bed. Her sister Karin stood beside the bed. An average looking man in a white coat, the doctor was also standing nearby. "It looks like you only have a slight concussion," the doctor said smiling, "There's nothing broken. The x-rays confirm that. You should be okay. May I ask where your parents are?"

Karin glared at the doctor. "You should already know that," she said, "We told you earlier. My dad was hurt too. He was brought here in an ambulance a little while before we got here.

"And your mom?" the doctor questioned.

"Dead," Karin said, "Six years ago, this day."

The doctor looked at Karin nervously. "So who brought you here?"

"My brother," Karin replied.

"Where is he?" the doctor asked.

"Another room somewhere here I believe," Yuzu said. She looked worried. "Oh, I do hope he's okay."

Karin crossed her arms. "He broke his arm about the same time as when Dad and Yuzu were hurt. You're not exactly the most focused person, are you? My dad is a much better doctor than you…" Karin lowered her voice to a mutter. "…even if he acts crazy half the time."

The doctor walked out of the room stiffly, looking deeply insulted. He closed the door.

"You didn't have to be so rude," Yuzu said to Karin, "Why are you acting like you're not hurt?"

"I'm not," Karin said, "Besides someone has to stay with you. The aches I've got are probably from bruises. It's not bad. I remember how it felt when I broke my leg back in the fourth grade. It doesn't hurt like that."

Yuzu's face grew deeply worried and upset. "What doesn't hurt like that? What hurts? What?"

Karin shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Show me," Yuzu said firmly.

Karin lifted up the back of her t-shirt. Yuzu gasped. On Karin's back there was a bruise shaped like a giant bird's foot. "It's as if," Yuzu said, 'It's as if a large bird stepped on you."

"Not bird," Karin muttered, "Hollow. Whatever that is." She spoke louder and sarcastically. "This is great, just great. As if seeing ordinary ghosts wasn't bad enough! Those at least I could ignore! They couldn't affect the normal world. They couldn't touch things. You know, I think I liked the world a lot better yesterday."

"Why yesterday?" Yuzu asked.

"Yesterday," Karin said, "I didn't know there were ghosts that could hurt you. That there were ghosts that could kill. That ghost today nearly killed Dad. If Dad is right, then six years ago it killed Mom." Tears came from Karin's eyes. It was the second time she cried had cried that year, and the third time she had cried since her mother's death many years before. Karin sat on the bed and hugged Yuzu.

A short time later in another part of the hospital Ichigo Kurosaki stood in an open area with a recipists' desk in front of him. There was a cast on his left arm. His arm was in a sling. He glared lethal intent at the woman sitting behind the desk. "What do you mean there is no Isshin Kurosaki!" he yelled.

"I'm sorry, but there is no record of a man by that name committed to the hospital," the woman said, "I'll check the computer one more time." The receptionist's hands moved fast on the keyboard before. "No, there is no man with that name here. Huh?" The receptionist appeared startled. Her eyes moved fast over the text on the computer. "That's odd. There's a report of an Isshin Kurosaki coming into the hospital. He was listed in critical condition. There's no record him being committed. With such wounds, there's no way he would have been discharged. What? What is this? The record just stops…"

"How is that possible?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know!" The receptionist was alarmed. "It shouldn't be! It-"

"Never mind," Ichigo said. "Can you tell me where the manger's office is?"

"Sure," the receptionist said, "but he wouldn't be in at this time…"

Ten minutes later Ichigo marched in through the door to the manger's office. A woman was standing outside the room yelling, "Hey! You can't go in there!"

"It's alright," a man in a grey suit said, "I've been expecting him." There were cross designs all over his tie, He was sitting behind a desk. There was a large window behind him. There were bookcases off to either side of the desk, filled to capacity with very large expensive looking books. The man in the grey suit had white hair. His eyes were a deep blue, seen behind frameless glasses.

"What do you mean, you've been expecting me?" Ichigo yelled more asked.

"Don't yell. That makes you appear rude and ignorant," the man said, "We might be the administrative section of the building but we are in a hospital. Be respectable. Behave in a civilized fashion, or I will have you thrown out. Now, close the door. We don't need to reveal our business to anyone who should happen to pass by."

Ichigo slammed the door. He glared at the man.

"That was rude. I warned you about that. Keep that up," the man said, "and I won't hesitate to go through with my threat."

"What threat?" Ichigo said, "You want to kick me out? Go ahead and try!" Ichigo smirked.

The man raised a brow. "Don't tempt me." The man stood up. He moved around the desk to stand in front of Ichigo. "You're hot headed. You remind me of Isshin at his worst. He is at times, far too easy to anger. We could stand around here trading insults. Ultimately though that accomplishes nothing."

Ichigo's brows went up. "You know my dad?" Ichigo said. _He talks like he knows him very well, _Ichigo thought,_ Who is this guy?_

The man put a finger across the bridge of his nose, straitening his glasses, which were ready to fall. "My name is Ryuken Isshida. You are Ichigo Kurosaki, Isshin's son. I see you are surprised. We have never met face to face. We have not spoken to each other, but yes I do know of you. Before we speak anything further I have a question to ask you. How much do you know about your father's past?"

_Can I trust this guy? _Ichigo thought, _He acts so distant…so cold…so arrogant…This man acts like he know so much…I don't anything about him…Dad told me to seek this guy out.. I don't have much choice…_

"Well," Ryuken said, "Are you just going to stand there? The clock is ticking."

"Shinigami," Ichigo said, "Dad told me a little bit about them."

Ryuken nodded ever so slightly. It was a nod of approval. "Good," he said, "You're being cautious. You're testing me out to see what I know. I presume you know that your father is a shinigami. Beyond that I will assume nothing. I'm fully aware of just how closed mouth Isshin can be when a subject is painful to him." Ryuken walked to the door. He opened it. "Follow me."

On a roof in another part of Karakura, some distance from the hospital there was a girl in a black hakama, a shinigami. Her hair was shoulder length and black. A strand of her hair went across her faced. She held in her hand a device that resembled a cell phone. The girl stood there on the roof of a house, thinking. _What's going here? Is this thing defective? Is someone back in Soul Society not doing their job right? At the cemetery…there was no hollow…that's the fifth time in the past two months that has happened! There was supposed to be a hollow there…when I got there it was as if someone else had already taken care of it…but no one else has been in the area. I've checked that…what was that energy I felt earlier today …it was immense… First that boy who can see me…now this…something is not right in this town…_

Back in the hospital in an otherwise empty hallway Ryuken walked with Ichigo a few steps behind him. The walls of the hall were decorated with crosses. Ryuken stopped in front of an elevator. He pressed a button. The elevator doors opened. Ryuken and Ichigo stepped inside. On the inside of the elevator, on either side of the doors were decorative looking metal panels with cross designs. Below the decorative panel on the right side was the usual elevator panel with its buttons. There was a keyhole above the buttons. Ryuken reached into one of his pockets. He pulled out a small key. He placed in the keyhole and turned it. The decorative panel above proved to more than decorative as it opened revealing a keypad with a set of numbers. Ryuken's fingers moved with experience as if he had done this often. He tapped out a code on the keypad. The elevator began to move downward.

Above the buttons was a small digital display showing with the floor level. The digital number dropped past the numbers that were shown on the buttons. The number dropped from one to negative one.

"Huh?" Ichigo's brows went up.

"Your father has his secrets," Ryuken said, "I have mine. This is one of them. Quincy supporters helped build and in the past have helped maintain this hospital."

"Quincy?" Ichigo said.

"A human bloodline with high spiritual powers," Ryuken said, "Most of them are gone. They were wiped out centuries ago. I have the unwanted distinction of being the last Quincy."

_I wonder what happened to them, _Ichigo thought, _I don't dare ask… this guy strikes me as someone who could dangerous if provoked… if he does have some kind of training and powers I don't think I really want to do anything to upset him…_

The elevator door opened. Ryuken and Ichigo stepped out into a small hallway. To the right there was a large metal door that had to be at least eight feet tall. It appeared to be made of silver or steel. There was no visible handle or means to open it. Beside the door, against the wall there was a flight of stairs up against wall going upwards. Along the same wall as the elevator to left there was another metal door. It was shorter, more normal sized. Ryuken walked up to this door. This door too had no handle. Ryuken put one of his hands against the door. It swung open at his touch. Ryuken walked in. Ichigo followed.

The size of room was that of a small warehouse. Sliver looking panels lined the walls. Steel shelves were placed against the walls, containing various medical looking supplies. The further one walked into the room, the less things seemed like medical supplies. There were boxes with weapons. There were shelves that held bows and arrows.

Ichigo glanced around looking right and left. "Crosses?" he asked staring at a shelf. "What is this place?"

"Quincy crosses," Ryuken said. He reached into a pocket inside the jacket of his grey suit. He pulled out a cross. "The Quincy cross. This is the symbol I carry as reminder of my heritage as the last of that bloodline. This room is a storehouse of Quincy weapons and supplies. You should feel privileged. Very few have seen this place."

"How exactly does this help my dad?" Ichigo asked.

Ryuken lifted his shoulders in the slightest of shrugs. "It doesn't. Not directly. I have turned my back on my heritage as much as I could. This ends tonight. I would have come down here even had you not shown up. The hollows in Karakura Town are becoming far too active. I cannot leave the town. My life's work, my income is here. I do not care to deal with hollows but I will not continue to be defenseless." Ryuken placed his cross back in his pocket. He took a bow off a shelf.

Ichigo reached for one the other bows. One of Ryuken's hands touched him, stopping him.

"I doubt those would work for you," Ryuken said, "Your spiritual energy is quite different from the Quincy bloodline. Touching you I can tell you have very high but very unusual spiritual energy. It is nothing like that of the Quincy. These weapons were designed solely for a Quincy."

Ichigo's right pulled back from the shelf. His hand clenched up into fist. His other hand in the cast moved a little as if to do the same. "What can I do? What!" he yelled, "I've been attacked and almost killed four times by those monsters. Those hollows! If it was some stupid thug I could beat him up. Against the hollows there's nothing I can do! Nothing!"

Ryuken's brows went up. He said not a word. Carrying the bow, he walked out of the storeroom. Ichigo followed. They went back up on the elevator. In less than five minutes they were walking down another empty hallway with crosses on the walls. Ryuken stopped in front of it. He opened it, revealing a small windowless hospital room. There was one bed. The man in the bed was Isshin Kurosaki. He was dressed in a hospital gown. There was a tube in his mouth. There was a cast on his right arm. There was an iv in his left arm. His eyes were closed.

"Dad!" Ichigo shouted as he attempted to run to the bed. Ryuken reached out, grabbing his right arm. Ichigo glared at him and pulled sharply away. He moved more slowly toward the bed. Ichigo stopped just an inch from the foot of the bed.

He was in terrible shape when they brought him here," Ryuken said, "He was struggling even to breathe. He has multiple broken ribs. There is extensive damage to his back. It is wonder he was even able to move. He was half out of his mind with pain. I had him sedated for his own good. The secrets he was speaking of could have caused a lot of problems had anyone believed or understood him. He was delirious. He was in bad shape. I believe he thought he was being tended by the fourth division of the Gotei Thirteen. He has seldom spoken of them. From the moment I saw him in the Emergency Room this evening I knew that it was nothing normal that hurt him."

"It was a hollow," Ichigo said softly. His face held a look of worry that was completely different from his usual scowls.

Ryuken moved to stand next to Ichigo. Ryuken straightened his glasses and continued speaking. "It was a mere coincidence that I was nearby when he was brought in. I had him brought to this section of the hospital. I-"

"I don't care about that!" Ichigo yelled, "What I want to know is, is he going to be okay?"

"His condition is stable but critical," Ryuken said, "This could change. It is somewhat touch and go."

Ichigo glared. He pointed at Ryuken. "There has to be something you can do. My dad told me to come to you!"

Ryuken's face was gravely serious as he said, "I have no idea why he did that. There is nothing I can do. The only one who might be able to help him is Kisuke Urahara."

"Then where is he?" Ichigo asked, "Why isn't he here?"

"Urahara is shinigami," Ryuken said, "Quincy and shinigami do not mix."

Ichigo's eyes narrowed to the slightest of slits. "Bull!" he shouted, "How do you explain the fact that you're helping my dad?"

"There are notable exceptions," Ryuken said, "I do not trust every shinigami. I most definitely do not trust Urahara."

"Where do I find him?" Ichigo asked.

"He runs a shop somewhere in town," Ryuken said, "I could not tell you where to find it. Another one of his kind, the shinigami might know."

Ichigo stomped out of the hospital room. From behind him, Ryuken called out, "Even if you find the shop, you probably won't find him in at this time of night."

"You were in, weren't you?" Ichigo said back, "I'll find him. If he is not at his shop then I'll find his house!"

"Do not mention my name or the word Quincy!" Ryuken shouted.

Twenty minutes on a shop filled street somewhere else in Karakura Town, Ichigo stood looking annoyed. The street was nearly empty of people. Most of the shops were closed. A few were closing. _This is impossible, _Ichigo thought, _Phone books didn't help any. The few people I've asked don't know anything about a man named Kisuke Urahara…It's if he doesn't exist! He has to…Ryuken Isshida told me that another shinigami might know where he was. But how am I going to find one of them?_

Ichigo continued walking down the street. He kicked at a loose pebbled on the road. _Another shinigami… I have to find one…I must! But where? _Images appeared in Ichigo's mind of a short girl in a hakama wielding a sword. _That girl…she saved my life twice…Dad said something earlier today about a shinigami being assigned to the area. Could it be that girl? It was only twice that I saw her. Each time she was fighting a hollow…if I find a hollow I might find her…what am I saying? If I find a hollow I might get killed! She didn't show up at the cemetery when that hollow with the lure did. Because of that, Dad did almost get killed…_

Ichigo suddenly stood as still as a statue. There was a scowl on his face that increased slowly with every passing second. _There's no choice! There is one problem… how do I find a hollow…if I'm near them I can sense them. Can I sense them from a distance? _Ichigo closed his eyes. A senstion, a sight of ribbons, passed through his mind. "THere," he said aloud. He pointed down a road. "Something doesn't feel right in that direction. It's that feeling I got near hollows."

Ichigo took off running. He moved past shops. He moved down several streets. He came in to a neighborhood that was filled with more homes than businesses. He stopped and stared at the fight going on, on the roof top of a house.

Up on the roof was the girl in the black hakama. It was the one he saw those two times before. The girl had shoulder length black hair with a strand in the center of her forehead. She was fighting a hollow. The white masked monster with the hole in its chest did not seem impressive. The girl made very quick work of it. Just as she was driving her sword through its chest. Ichigo spoke up.

"Hey you!" Ichigo yelled.

The girl moved as if startled. "What?"

"Yeah," Ichigo said with his right hand cupped beside his mouth to amplify sound. "Yeah! I'm talking to you shinigami! Come down from there! I've got something to say to you!"

"You again!" the girl said. She tilted her head down at him. The cover of night and the distance between roof and ground made it hard for ethier to see the other's facial expressions. The girl's face was filled with shock.

"You're not doing a good job shinigami!" Ichigo yelled up at the girl.

"Who are you?" the girl yelled down at him.

"Someone who's dad almost died when he shouldn't have because you failed your job!" Ichigo shouted, "You're not all that good a shinigami!"

A window on the second of the floor of the house right below the roof opened up. A middle aged man stuck his head out the window. "What's the big idea?" he said, "Some people are trying to get ready for bed. Yelling nonsense at my roof! Acting as if it were speaking back! I out to have you arrested! Death gods indeed! I should have you thrown in a loony bin!"

_Right, _Ichigo thought, _the average person can neither hear nor see spirits. That's nothing new. In this case however, it could get me in trouble. _"I beg your pardon," Ichigo said. He bowed his head for a moment then quickly walked away.

Up on the roof, the shinigami girl smirked. _At least some things are right with the world, _she thought, _that boy may see me but that old man can't… wait did that boy say his dad almost died? _The girl moved down from the roof. A minute later she caught up with the boy.

"What did you mean by that?" she asked.

"What?" Ichigo asked.

"Your dad," she said.

_Oh no, _Ichigo thought, _I told her that? Dad acted like he didn't want anyone to know about him. I'll have to take a gamble on Urahara. My dad's life is at stake. Isshida said he didn't trust Urahara but he did mention him by name. This girl is a another matter…_

"It was nothing, shinigami," Ichigo said, "I was trying to get your attention."

"You should not say things like that," the girl said, "It's insulting. It's worrying. It's like crying out fire when there is not one."

"It worked, didn't it, Shinigami?" Ichigo said.

"I have a name," the girl said, "It's Rukia Kuchiki."

"My mine is Ichigo Kurosaki," Ichigo said. Five seconds later the thought was running through his head, _Maybe I shouldn't have told my surname. It might link me to Dad._

The girl did not react oddly to the name. "Shinigami," she said, "is my job, not my name."

"I know," Ichigo said, "I was told that a shingami might know where Kisuke Urahara's shop is." _If she doesn't recognize the surname, maybe she doesn't know about my dad… she looks about my age…that's more than a generation younger than Dad. Maybe she never heard of him…I know she can heal people…no…I better not risk it …not if I don't have to…_

The girl's brows narrowed. "Urahara? What do you want with him?"

"That's my business!" Ichigo snapped. He glared at the girl. His face and voice softened a little bit. "It's a private matter. It's kind of urgent. I have to see him tonight."

A few minutes later on another street a sign read Urahara's Shop. The front to the shop was open. A huge white powdery mess was pouring out through the door. A broom was brushing it out. The person holding it was a young boy with red hair wearing a white t-shirt with the name of the shop on the front in blue characters. His blue pants were three quarter length and rolled up at the knees. "Why did the boss have this?" the boy asked, "What use is there is there for a super sized jar of flour up high on a shelf?"

"How should I know?" a little girl asked, "You're the one who knocked it down with the broom." The little girl had black hair in pigtails. There was a seemingly permanent blush on her face. Her eyes were purple. Her eyes looked dreamy and somewhat glazed over. She wore a white t-shirt with the shop logo, the letters in pink, and a pink skirt with white dots.

"I was practicing my batting average," the red haired boy said, "It's not my fault if he jar got in the way of a great game." The red haired boy shoved the broom at the little girl. "Here! You're lower in status. You're faster than me. You clean up!"

"I'm older than you by three years," the little girl said, "and we're only stuck because of your stupidity." The little girl threw the broom back at the boy. She walked over the small mound of flour and stepped out of the shop.

"Status has nothing to do with age!" the red haired boy yelled. He ran out of the shop with the broom in hand like it was a giant club or a baseball bat.

Another boy, smaller and younger looking than the other two kids, stepped into the doorway. He followed them outside. This boy had wavy brown hair. He too wore a Urahara shop t-shirt. The logo on the shirt was red. His shirt was matched with a pair of red shorts. This boy was smiling, giggling a little bit.

The red haired boy turned back around to glare at the smaller boy. "What are you laughing at shorty?" The red haired boy ran at the smaller boy with the broom held high. The smaller boy looked ready to cry.

"Jinta-kun, Tessai-san will get mad," the little girl said, "You're not cleaning up the mess you made. You're teasing the new kid. You're not-"

"I'm not new," the smaller boy said with tears filling his eyes, "I've been here a month."

"Oh yeah?" The red haired boy stopped the broom less than a foot from the other boy's head. "Well we've been here a lot longer than that!"

"You're going to get in trouble," the little girl said.

The red haired boy, Jinta lifted up the broom and ran toward the girl. "You're as annoying as ever! For the record I'm not scared of anything. That includes Tessai!" The brush end of the broom was about to hit the little girl. It was stopped as the hand of an older taller person reached out and grabbed the handle of the broom. Jinta instantly looked spooked. "Te-Tessai!" he stuttered as he turned back around.

The person holding the broom was not the expected Tessai. Ichigo Kurosaki's right hand was on the broom . Ichigo glared down at the boy. "Hey brat, what are you doing? It's not nice to hit people who are smaller than you!"

"Who on Earth are you?" Jinta asked. Jinta glanced at Rukia who was standing next to Ichigo a few steps behind. Recognition filled Jinta's face. "Oh, it's you. Sorry we're closed. Come back tomorrow!"

"This is Urahara's shop?" Ichigo looked at the sign then at Rukia. She nodded. Determination filled Ichigo's face. He stared down at Jinta.

"Hey," Jinta yelled, "I said we're closed!"

"I'm not leaving," Ichigo said, "Not until I speak to Urahara or find where he is."

"P-please sir, le-leave," the smaller boy said in a stuttering way, "We d-on't want any tr-trouble." The boy appeared nervous.

Ichigo turned his head for a second to get a good look at the youngest of the three kids, the boy with the wavy brown hair. An idle thought passed Ichigo's mind. _That's odd I feel I seen him somewhere before…no, not seen… heard…I feel as if I've heard his voice before… _Ichigo shook his head. _No. I couldn't have…_

"Don't be a baby," Jinta said, "He can't hurt us!" Jinta ran to stand in front of the door. His feet went down hard in the pile of flour sending it flying everywhere. Jinta sneezed. Covered in the flour, he stood blocking the doorway. He held up the broom as if it were a deadly blade. "You will not pass!"

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "You're not impressing anyone," he said. Ichigo stepped forward catching the broom as it was raised up aiming for his head. Ichigo took the broom from Jinta.

In under a minute Ichigo was standing right inside the shop. Jinta came in a few seconds behind, rubbing at his head. "You know," Jinta said, "Getting wacked by a broom hurts!"

Ichigo smirked. "You shouldn't have tried hit anyone with it. Now you know what it feels like."

The inside of shop was fairly standard looking, not that different from any ordinary convenience store. There was nothing out in the open that was odd or eyebrow raising. There were magazines and candies and various snack foods. The place was small. The only thing standout was the fact that there was a platform, almost a stage in the back. Against the wall along the raised floor there was a closed door.

A large very tall man was moving about the shop straightening things up. He was broad shouldered and muscular. He had on rectangular shaped glasses. His hair was in cornrows with the little braids going down his back. He had a mustache that blended into his sideburns. He was wearing a tight shirt and a pair of pants with a long blue apron over them. The man stopped moving to stared intently at Ichigo then Jinta. As Rukia and the other two children walked into the shop, his brows went down in a sharp V.

"Um," Jinta said looking like he wanted to be anywhere else. "Uh, Tessai-san. I can explain-"

The little girl tilted her head up at Ichigo. Then she looked at Jinta "Jinta-kun would not make a good guard."

"Hey!" Jinta yelled defensively, "I tried to tell him that the shop was closed! It's not my fault if he wouldn't take no for an answer!"

" I must ask you two to leave. Come back tomorrow," Tessai said, "Come back during store hours."

"No," Ichigo said, "Not until I see Kisuke Urahara." Ichigo scowled up at Tessai.

Tessai glared back at Ichigo. The tall man was very imposing looking. "You are not going to bother the manager. He's had a long busy day. He does not need to be dealing with any more stress right now."

"It's a matter of life and death!" Ichigo shouted.

Tessai raised a brow. "You're exaggerating."

"No," Ichigo said.

Tessai glared again. "You better not be lying. I will go and get the manager."

"No need," a voice said, "I'm already here." The door at the back of the platform opened. A man with a buckcet shaped hat walked out. The hat had vertical green and white stripes. The brim of the hat halfway covered his eyes. His blond hair being sort of long, went past the length of the hat, strands of it going past his jaw. He wore a black coat, a green shirt, and green pants. He was barefoot.

Ichigo's eyes went wide, recognizing the man instantly. Images ran through Ichigo's mind. Images of himself running with his friend Chad. They were running down a street away from a hollow. His friend was carrying a parrot in a cage. As the image faded, Ichigo saw the cage hanging up high in a corner in the shop. The bird in the in cage was the same one. It was chirping.

Ichigo's attention went back to the man with the hat. An memory flashed through Ichigo's mind of a man with a sword cane defeating the monster that attacked him and Chad.

"You," Ichigo said, "You're Mister Hat and Clogs!"

The man with the hat laughed. "What a charming nickname." "You're Kisuke Urahara?" Ichigo blurted out, "You're the guy I was sent to find? You're that guy! The one who saved me and Chad, last month!"

The man with the hat nodded. "Yes," he said, "Kisuke Urahara is my name. Though I don't dislike being called 'Mr. Hat and Clogs." Urahara smiled widely. He was practically beaming. "I think it's kind of cute."

Ichigo gave Urahara his fiercest glare. Urahara just continued smiling at him. "How may I help you?" Urahara asked.

Ichigo turned to face Rukia. "Thank you for helping me find his shop. Now would you please leave? I need to talk to him alone."

Rukia looked at him in a mix of disgust and disbelief. "I'm getting tired of asking this. Who are you?"

"That's none of your business!" Ichigo snapped, "Now get out of here!"

Rukia stomped out of the open shop door with a glare to match Ichigo's on her face. "I don't know who you think you are," she said as she left, "There is no way you're a normal human. Your spirit energy is too high for some still alive. What kind of spirit are you? I'll find out sooner or later."

"I'm human! I'm not a spirit!" Ichigo yelled as the door slammed. Ichigo turned back towards Urahara with an annoyed expression on his face. "Counting the hollow my dad fought, she's the third person today to tell me I have high spirit energy. Just what does that mean?"

Urahara's face took on an expression of extreme interest. "Kids," Urahara said to the young children in his shop, "Please wait outside for a few minutes."

The three kids in the white t-shirts walked out with one the named Jinta glaring as if he wanted to beat up Ichigo. "This," Jinta was muttering, "I'd like to hear. It figures. When things get intesting they shut you out." The little girl and the smaller boy wallked out before Jinta did. As Jinta left, he slammed the door as hard as Rukia had.

Urahara's face relaxed. He shook his heads. "Kids today, what can you do about them? They know no repect." Urahara become more serius again. "Now that everyone is gone let's talk bussisiss. What brought you here?"

Ichigo's brows went up. "Everyone?" he said as he pointed at Tessai. "What about him?" He glared at Tessai

Urahara sat on the platform. He appeared almost bored. He smiled gently. "Anything would you say to me can be said in front of him." Urahara's face took on the look of serious interest again. "What was it were you were saying about Isshin? He used his shinigami powers today, didn't he? I thought felt it. Such strength is unmistakable but it disappeared remarkably fast."

Ichigo's brows raised again, this time in shock. _Yet another person who speaks as if he knows him! How well does this guy know Dad? _Ichigo thought, _More importantly_…_just how much do I not know about my dad? There's this whole other side of him…this whole other life I've never seen. _Ichigo schooled his facial features back into a more usual frown. He spoke up, asking, "Are you friends with my father?"

"One might say that," Urahara said, "We were both captains of the Gotei Thirteen. We are both exiles. I'm the one who made his gigai. One of my better works. His gigai perfectly dampens and blocks his powers so long as he inhabits it. It is to those untrained in certain arts completely indistin from a normal human body."

Ichigo looked at Urahara once again in shock. The more Urahara spoke the more his face went from shock to a blankness that only comes when someone doesn't understand something.

Urahara's eyes widened a little. "Oh my," he said, "You really don't know much the about shinigami. I do hope your father doesn't try to come after me for talking so freely to you. I would hate to have to hurt him. When I did that favor for him last he was very precise in what I could and could not tell you. There was a strong killing intention in his threats. Since you came here tonight, I thought he told you more." Urahara sighed. "Oh well."

Ichigo's facial expression went from shock to worry. Just as quickly it shifted to anger. "Why you-!" he yelled, "I don't know why that Quincy suggested I come here. You're no help! I don't even know what a Quincy is! I don't much about shinigami! I'm sick of this!"

"Quincy?" Tessai said stepping closer towards Ichigo.

Urahara looked surprised. "I haven't heard that word in a long time."

"It was two hundred years ago that I last heard of them," Tessai said.

"The Quincy were at one time scattered all over the world," Urahara said, "They were related to magic hunters. They specialized in warfare against hollows. The Quincy clan was wiped out over two hundred years ago."

Ichicgo walked toward the platform with an incredulous expression on his face. "Wiped out?"

"Yes." Urahara nodded. "In modern they were humans not completely unlike you in the fact that they could detect the existence hollows. They began their own path to destruction from the moment they began to train to defeat the hollows the way that the shinigami do. The one critical difference between shinigami and Quincy was that the Quincy killed the hollows, destroying them utterly. Quincy bows did not have the power to purify souls the way a shinigami's sword does. Destroying a hollow means destroying a soul. It means that an imbalance is created between life and death. The more hollow are destroyed, the less souls there are that will be reborn in this world."

Ichigo stood directly in front of the platform less than a foot away. He stared at Urahara. _Is he saying what I thinking he is? _Ichigo thought, _I don't like where this seems to going._

"The shinigami tried to reason with them," Urahara said, "The Quincy thought they were doing was right. They were avenging their loved ones. In the short term they were stopping the hollows from harming people. But they were threatening the greater balance that everything depends on. In the end, there was no choice. In order to save humanity, the shinigami wiped out the entire clan."

"What?" Ichigo said. In his mind he was thinking, _Not all of them. Some must have survived. If all this is true, it's no wonder that Isshida doesn't trust them. Yet he trusts my dad…Dad! Ichigo's face went red with anger. "All you are doing is talking, talking, talking!" Ichigo shouted, "Every time I try to say something you speak instead! My father could be dying right now!"_

_In an instant Kisuke Urahara stood up. He ducked back in the doorway he came from. He came back in five seconds with the sword cane and a small duffle bag. He tossed the bag to Tessai "You should spoken more bluntly," Urahara said, "In the future if you have something important to say, say it immediately. Don't worry about manners. Now where is your father?"_

_The next day, Isshin Kurosaki's eyes were closed. The back of his head was lying flat on a pillow. His eyes opened. His eyes went as wide they could in shock. Very close to his face, right above it, was a face with square glasses, and a mustache that blended into a beard._

"_Good," the man lying on top of Isshin said, "You're awake."_

"_Gah!" Isshin yelled, "I know you. You're Tessai Tsukabishi! It's been a while since we last met. What are you doing? Why are you in bed with me? You're too close. Too close! Get off me!" Isshin pushed him off as hard as he could. There was not much strength to the push. Tessai only rolled a little bit, lying beside Isshin, instead of on top of him._

"_Hah hah hah!" A male voice laughed. Isshin looked around. He was lying on a bed in middle of the floor. The room had an old fashioned traditional Japanese feel to it. Sunlight was pouring in from the windows. Ichigo was standing near a wall. He was the one laughing. "It's about time old man that you got a taste of your own medicine. "_

_Tessai stood up. He left the room shouting, "He's awake! He's awake!"_

"_Where am I?" Isshin asked, "This isn't my house."_

_Ichigo leaned his back against the wall. "No," he said, "This isn't home. This is Kisuke Urahara's house. In case you're wondering Dad, the girls are okay. Yuzu and Karin are staying at the house of one ofYuzu's friends. Karin's probably miserable with all that girly stuff by now, but otherwise they're okay."_

"_Kisuke?" Isshin asked._

_Ichigo nodded. He crossed his healthy looking, cast free arms against his chest. "It's because of him, that you're going to be alright."_

_Isshin pushed away at the covers. He sat up groaning. There was only a light amount of banfages wrapped around his chest and back. His left was also bandaged._

"_It's thanks to Urahara-san, that you were healed," Ichigo said, "The same is true for my arm which last night was badly broken."_

"_You know about him?" Isshin asked nervously._

"_Not nearly enough," Ichigo said. Ichigo smirked. His arms were still crossed against his chest. He continued leaning against the wall. "You've got a lot of explaining to do. That little bit you said before passing out yesterday just isn't going to cut it…"_

* * *

_NEXT TIME: CHAPTER SEVEN POOR MERCHANDISE!_


	7. Poor Merchandise

DISCLAIMER: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER SEVEN: POOR MERCHANDISE

The sun was shining over the Karakura Hospital. Deep inside the building there was a hidden hallway with two huge metal doors each along a different wall. Leaning against the wall beside one of the doors were two men, Isshin Kurosaki and Ryuken Ishida. Isshin was dressed in business causal, a suit without the tie or jacket. Ryuken wore his usual business suit, grey jacket, grey pants, light blue shirt, and a tie with crosses designs all over it. Ryuken pulled out of a pocket a cigarette lighter and a cigarette.

"That's a nasty habit," Isshin said, "It could kill you."

Ryuken stared up at the ceiling. "I doubt it. There are things around this town that are more likely to do so."

Isshin smiled a goofy grin. "Smoking can lead to lung cancer," he said, "I'm a doctor. I know these things!"

Ryuken glared at Isshin coldly. "I'm a doctor too, you idiot! It's a fact you know well. You would have to have suffered brain damage to have forgotten."

"Cold. That's so cold!" Isshin shuddered and wrapped his arm around himself as he was freezing. The gestures, the body language was overly theatrical and entirely fake looking.

"Oh grow up," Ryuken said calmly, "You're behaving more immature than my son did when he was five."

"I am not!" Isshin shouted.

Ryuken brought the lit cigarette near his mouth. He took a puff. "Why did you tell you tell your son to come to me?" Isshin's smile this time was more sheepish than goofy. He shrugged. "You were the first person I thought of."

Ryuken raised a brow. "Oh really? Why haven't you told your son anything about your past?"

Isshin snorted. "Like you're one to talk."

"The difference," Ryuken said, "is that my son knows something. As much I may hate it, he was taught about his heritage by my father. His knowledge may incomplete but it is enough to get by. Your son is a different matter. Your son is ignorant. Ichigo showed up Monday afternoon at my office asking me what I knew about the shinigami, the Quincy and hollows. I do not have time to deal with that!"

"He did, did he?" Isshin smiled in an embarrassed way. "I've been trying to dodge his questions right and left since the end of last week when he found out I was a shinigami."

"I'm fully aware of that," Ryuken said, "The consequence of your irresponsibly is that your son is seeking answers from anyone else who seem to know anything."

Isshin scratched at his head. "Not exactly. He seems to have settled on someone. Ichigo's been hanging out at Kisuke's place an awful lot these past five days."

"That's even worse, you idiot!" Ryuken yelled. The previously icy expressionless features of Ryuken were coming alive with fury. It was an intense glare aimed at Isshin.

Isshin just shrugged again. He smiled widely in a goofy sort of way. "No, it's not. I told Kisuke not to tell him anything more. I even threatened. Now, Kisuke wouldn't be telling him anything. Would he?"

"You threatened him?" Ryuken said, "If only half the things you told me were true, Kisuke Urahara is still stronger than you! More importantly he's more skilled. Even on your best day you couldn't beat him!"

In another part of Karakura Town there was the Urahara Shop. It was a weekend. It was afternoon. This meant for the three kids and the one teenager currently in the shop, no school. Ichigo stood leaning against a wall. There were a bunch of cardboard boxes in the front doorway. One of the larger boxes was keeping the door open.

A young boy with red hair carried a box. He wore a white t-shirt with blue shorts. His name was Jinta Hanakari. Ichigo scowled at him. Jinta glared back. Jinta struggled to carry the box which was nearly as big as him. "You could help, you know," Jinta said.

"I don't work here," Ichigo said.

"You might as well," Jinta said, "You've been here often enough this week."

"Let me help, Jinta-kun!" a smaller boy said. A boy who was wearing a white t-shirt and red shorts. He had wavy brown hair and green eyes. His name was supposedly Akira Tanaka. The boy didn't always respond to the name.

Ichigo stared at the small boy. _I don't for second believe that it's his real name,_ Ichigo thought, _he all but confessed that it wasn't, yesterday. Little kids really don't know how to lie well…'Akira' or whatever his name is, is way too honest…I keep feeling I've met him somewhere before… _Ichigo shook his head slightly. _I don't think I'm going to figure this out anytime soon…This is only the third time I've seen him here. That kid's not here at the shop everyday. The other two are… I wonder… _Ichigo's thoughts were interrupted by a crashing sound.

The boy called Akira was grabbing the other side of the big box Jinta was holding. Akira pulled at the box. Jinta pulled back. The box shook making rattling and crashing noises. There was a distinct sound of breaking glass. The box fell to the floor with a loud thud.

"Look what you made me do!" Jinta yelled pointing at the box. Jinta raised his hand higher to point at Akira. "You really are a baby. You don't belong here! Why do you just leave?"

Akira's eyes began to water. Jinta glared at him. "You big baby!" Jinta shouted, "Crying like only show I'm right. Don't cry! If Tessai-san walks in here, it won't look good. He'll blame me! It's all your fault this time! Not mine." Jinta's face went softer, more gentle. His voice became consoling, a bad atemt at comforting. "Please don't cry. Just because you're being a big baby doesn't mean you have to stay one." This did not help. Akira burst into tears. Jinta raised a fist at Akira. Ichigo moved quickly stepping in between them.

"Stop that, you brat!" Ichigo yelled at Jinta. Ichigo turned to look at the younger boy. "You! Don't listen to him!" Ichigo gestured at Jinta. "This brat doesn't know anything!"

"That's not true!" Jinta said.

On the floor in a corner a little girl sat in front of a stack of boxes. She had a math book in her lap. The girl wore a white t-shirt with a pink and white skirt. Her black hair was in pigtails. There was a permanent blush on her face. Her eyes were purple. The girl's name was Ururu Tsumugiya. She was leaned over the book working out a math problem on notebook paper. She looked up for a moment. "Ichigo-san is right," she said in a slow dreamy voice, "You don't know anything. All you know how to is swing a baseball bat. You're not that at that good either."

Jinta stared at Ururu. "Hey, you take that back!" Jinta abandoned all interest in Akira, as he ran toward Ururu. In seconds, Jinta was pulling Ururu's bangs. "Cockroach bangs. You have cockroach bangs!"

Akira stopped crying. He started giggling. He smiled up at Ichigo. "Thanks, Ichigo-san."

Ichigo's brows went up then back down. "The way they're acting now doesn't bother you?"

"No," Akira said, "Ururu-chan has high spiritual energy. So does Jinta-kun. They're both a lot stronger than me. They're both bigger than me. Jinta-kun coming after me is scary. Him going after Ururu-chan is funny. If she wanted to, she could run away. He wouldn't be able to catch her. Ururu-chan is super fast."

Ichigo's brows which were raised, went back down. His eyes narrowed. "You're one weird kid."

Akira laughed. He reached into a pocket in his shorts. He pulled out a candy dispenser with a cute plastic duck head on the top. "I got this candy this morning, I haven't tried any yet. You stopped Jinta-kun from beating me up. As thanks you should have the first piece." Ichigo shook his head. "No, thanks. I don't like candy that much."

Akira looked amazed. "You don't? Everyone likes candy!" Akira held the candy dispenser toward Ichigo. "Please take one. I don't have any other way to show my thanks. Mom always said you should do things for other who are nice to you."

"Oh, alright," Ichigo said, "Just one." Ichigo took the dispenser. He pressed on the head. A small white ball that looked like a tiny gumball came out. The small boy grinned. Ichigo looked at the boy in disbelief. _Geez, _Ichigo thought, _Gratitude sure is a big deal to this kid. It can't hurt to eat just one piece…I wonder what kind of candy this is…_Ichigo looked at the label on the dispenser as he put the candy ball in his mouth. The label said, 'Soul Candy.' Ichigo swallowed the candy. As he did, he made a peculiar face as if in agony. _What's happening to me?_

A very strange sight occurred. A second head identical to Ichigo's emerged moving forward from the original. Akira screamed as what looked like a second Ichigo was suddenly standing next to the original form.

The original form smiled in a way that Ichigo never smiled. The usal scowl was completely gone from the face. It was the same eyes as always but they looked kinder, gentler somehow. The face lit up with excitement. The voice that spoke was not Ichigo's. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" the voice shouted with joy.

Jinta and Ururu were fighting in a corner. They stopped. Both were wide-eyed in shock. Jinta was the only one who spoke up. "There's two Ichigos?" Jinta asked incredulously, "Wait, you're not Ichigo. You're a gikon, an artificial soul."

"That's right," the false Ichigo said. He smiled a grin that seemed benevolent and childlike. There was no malice in his voice or face.

The real Ichigo was standing next to the false one staring in shock. He held up his arms in front of him. He gazed at his hands then at the false Ichigo. "What's going on?" the real Ichigo asked. Thoughts flashed through his mind. _I'm a spirit right now. That's my body over there…but that's not me! How is this possible?_

A chain stretched out attached to the chests of the two orange haired youths. The false Ichigo pulled at the chain at his chest. "What's this? A chain of fate? A shinigami's gigai shouldn't have one of these! Oh well, I'll figure it later." The false Ichigo's voice took on a quality of determination mixed with the previous excitement. He shouted out, "Today is all about me! I may die tomorrow but not today. Oh yeah! I got a body! After all this time, too. Yes! Yes! Yes!"

The false Ichigo leapt over the boxes that were in the door. In seconds he was outside. The chain pulled appearing ready to snap. The real Ichigo, the spirit of Ichigo became worried. _I still don't know much about shinigami.. But I've learned a few things about chains of fate…That's my lifeline being pulled… the connection to my body…If that breaks I'm dead! _"Wait!" Ichigo yelled aloud, "That's my body you're stealing! Come back!" Ichigo ran after the body stealing gikon. He passed right through the boxes. _That was weird, _he thought but he didn't slow down. The fake Ichigo ran right past Tessai who was standing in front of the shop with an armful of boxes. The boxes were stacked higher than Tessai's head. The large man tilted his head trying to see past the boxes he was holding. By the time he did, the fake Ichigo was already running out into the street with the real one running after him as if his life depended on it. Which it did. The chain pulled and relaxed over and over as they ran depending on far ahead the fake one was over the real. In no time at all they were down the street and out of sight.

Tessai's brows went down with anger. He looked toward the shop. "Jinta!" he yelled, "What did you do this time?"

Down the street a ways, the gikon and Ichigo's spirit continued to run. "Slow down!" Ichigo yelled, "You're killing me!"

The fake Ichigo stopped running instantly, sending the real one crashing against him. The two of the fell to the pavement. They were lying in the middle of the road. A truck came down the road. The driver of the tried to slow down. The truck slid closer. The fake Ichigo grabbed a hold of the real one. He leapt to stand on the sidewalk out of harm's way. The driver of the truck honked its horn and went on.

The two faces identical in everything but expression starred at each other then the chain. The fake Ichigo said, "I may be many things. I will be many things if I get the chance. But I'm no killer! All life is sacred. All life is precious-"

Two girls in uniforms from Ichigo's school walked by. One had long black hair. The other had shorter brown, the front strands pulled to with hair pins crisscrossing in an x shape.

"All-" The fake Ichigo went from serious to flirting in a second. "Hello ladies!" he said.

The girls ignored him. The one with the long hair said to the other, "It's so nice to able receive tutoring at the school. The only dumb thing about is the insistence on uniforms."

"Oh, I agree," the one with short hair said, "It's awful to wear school clothes on the weekend. But it is school grounds and all." The girls walked right past both the real and the fake Ichigo as if neither one was there.

The fake Ichigo squatted down to the ground as if to make a powerful leap. "Oh no you don't!" the real one said. The real Ichigo scowled as fiercely as he ever had in his life. He leapt on to the back of the fake wrapping himself around the fake piggy back style. The fake jumped right over the heads of the girls then fell at their feet due to the unbalanced weight on his back.

The two girls shrieked. The gikon smiled up at them. "That's right ladies, I'm falling head over heals for you," the gikon said, "I've got the scrapes and cuts to prove it." He winced, then smiled again. "Do you want to kiss them and make them better?"

_Wait a sec, _Ichigo thought as he disentangled himself from the gikon, _I know these girls, I think…I can't remember their names… They're friends with Orihime. They're in my class! _Ichigo stood up. He waved a hand in front of the girls' faces. _It's like they can't see me…if I'm a spirit they can't…_ Ichigo scowled at the being next to him. _They may be not be able to see me but they certainly can see him!_

"What are you doing Kurosaki-san?" the long haired girl asked.

"Gaining your attention," the fake Ichigo said. He stood up. He grabbed the hand of the girl with the short hair. He pulled her hand close to his face. He kissed it.

"What are you doing? Stop that!" Ichigo yelled, "They think you're me! You're ruining my reputation! Stop that!"

"You are most beautiful," the fake said, "If a person says otherwise they are lying. Do you want to be my girlfriend? I'd say we don't have to go past first base for a long time but my time may be short. You strike me as a sensible girl. No one wants to die a virgin. What's say you and me find a bed somewhere? Your friend is welcome to join us."

The short haired girl gasped. She yanked her hand away. She blushed. The other girl slapped the fake Ichigo across the face, hard enough to leave a hand print mark on his right cheek.

The two girls took off running down the street. The long haired girl looked mad. The shorted haired one looked scared.

The fake Ichigo stared at their quickly disappearing backs. "Was it something I said?" he asked.

"It was everything!" the real Ichigo yelled, "If they tell anybody what you did, every good girl in school will terrified of me." Ichigo put a hand over his eyes. He groaned. "In less than two days, my reputation at school will be ruined."

"At least you have two more days," the fake Ichigo said, "When that exiled shinigami captain gets his hands on me I'm history."

One of Ichigo's brows went up. "Huh? What are you talking about?"

"A long story," the fake said, his face as serious Ichigo's. The seriousness was halted by a weak smile. "It's funny, this is one of only a handful of times in my life that I've been free. Free of that pill form that is. I've never been truly free. Not ever. It all started the day after I was made. Actually it started sometime before that…"

In Urahara's shop the three kids, Ururu, Jinta, and Akira stood facing the shop's owner. Akira was crying. Jinta was looking defensive. Ururu was looking dreamy eyed.

"It's not my fault," Jinta muttered, "It's not!"

"I-I don't know w-what happened," Akira stuttered. His voice was shaky, threanting to break into sobs. "I found a b-box this morning that felt em-empty. I wanted to play with it. When I-I opened it there was something inside. It was wrapped in paper. I unwrapped it. It looked like candy. I gave Ichigo the-the first of it. I think it was the first." Akira held the dispenser with the plastic duck head in his hands. He held it up. He pressed on the head. "See? Nothing comes out!"

"Calm down. Don't cry," Urahara said. He stood directly in front of Akira. He bent down on one knee to be closer to eye level with the boy. He gave the boy a gentle smile. "There there." Urahara ran a hand over Akira's head ruffling the child's hair. "I believe I know what happened. First things first. All the facts have to be know before we can act. Can you show me where the box is?"

Akira nodded. "Uh-huh, I didn't do anything with the box. The duck head on the candy thing was more fun. The box had funny characters on it. Romaji. English, I think."

Akira walked over to a corner with a bunch of boxes. Hung high from the ceiling above the boxes was the birdcage with the parrot Urahara had bought two months ago from Yasutora Sado. The bird looked down at Akira and immediately started squawking, "Arwk, play keep away! Arwk! Play keep away! Kami preserve us. Great Kami preserve us! Arwk! Play keep away!"

"Aw, shut up! Stupid bird!" Jinta said to the parrot. To Akira he said, "I thought you were scared of that bird. Normally you stay away from it."

"Not scared," Akira said with a stubborn look on his face, "I just don't like him. He doesn't like me. He bites. He's too smart."

"Keep focused please," Urahara said, "Where is the box?"

Akira pointed to the box. On the box were words in English that said, 'Poor merchandise.'

"Oh dear," Urahara said, "I was afraid of this."

"What is it Storeowner?" Tessai asked.

Urahara looked embarrassed. "Something I should gotten rid months ago," he said, "A mod-soul."

"What's a mod-soul?" Jinta asked.

Urahara sighed. "The product of one of Soul Society's more dangerous plans," Urahara said, "They called it Operation Spearhead. Gikons as you should already know, are artificial souls, beings created to serve the will of Soul Society. Mod-souls are specially modified gikons. Some poor fool got the idea to use the bodies of dead humans. After all, what are the dead but empty shells? Gigai, the artificial bodies used by shinigami are shell. If a gikon could be used in a gigai when the shinigami wasn't using it, why couldn't a gikon be placed in a corpse?"

"Sounds like a zombie movie!" Jinta's face went blank. He raised his arms in front of him, waving them stiffly in a mockery of movie zombies.

"Eww!" Akira said.

Ururu nodded her head. "Corpses are decaying. They're not stable or alive like Gigai."

"Precisely," Urahara said, "Operation Spearhead was the height of Soul Society foolishness. Some things should not be meddled with." Urahara sounded almost as if he was speaking from experience. His face took on a distant look as if he was seeing something that no once else did. He seemed troubled. His eyes snapped back into focus. He smiled sadly at Akira.

Suddenly Urahara's face become animated and cheerful. "The mod-souls themselves are not bad," he said, "It was the purpose they were to be put to that was the problem. Mod-souls are rather fascinating. They are the most independent minded gikon ever made. They are capable of occupying a wide variety of body types. When placed in a body that is human or similar enough to human they amplify one part of the body to superhuman decrees. Examples include super strength, super speed, super singing, and super intelligence. What you kids described sounds like an under pod type. The enhanced leg strength of that type makes them incredible at jumping."

"Mod-souls sound cool!" Akira said.

"Yeah," Jinta said, "Why don't you use them to do the chores around here. It sounds like the right kind could a lot better job than we could."

Urahara became serious again. "Mod-souls are highly illegal. When Operation Spearhead was canceled, the order was given that all mod-souls be destroyed."

Urahara's eyes showed great concern and worry. He lifted up his cane. He walked toward the front of the store. "Come on," he said. "We got a mod-soul to capture!"

The false Ichigo and the real one walked side by side on the sidewalk beside the street. The chain of fate stilled the human body and the spirit form together. The real Ichigo, the spirit Ichigo was looking at the fake in a state of shock. "You mean Soul Society created you?" Ichigo asked, "And when they had no use for you, they were just going to destroy you?"

"Yes," the fake Ichigo said, "That's it. I am a Kaizo Konpako, a modified soul, a mod-soul for short." "But you're alive!" Ichigo shouted, "You're a person." Ichigo scowled at the fake. "You're annoying. You made a fast mess of my personal life. I don't like you much. That doesn't mean you deserve what they were going to do to you. You're real! You can't be killed for no reason! "

"Well, thanks!" the mod-soul in Ichigo's body spoke sarcastically. "I don't think I like you either Mr. Moody! You might be good hearted, you sort of sound it, but you sure don't look it. You mope. You glare. You keeping looking like you want to kill me. Well, who doesn't!"

The mod-soul was filled with righteous fury. "This isn't a perfect world. I 'can't be killed for no reason?' Hah! I wish the Soul Society saw it that way. It's like slavery. No, its worse than that. From the second day of my life I knew I was marked for death. I did nothing. They merely decided that I was unwanted. The plan I was made for fell apart. They never asked what else I could do. They gave me no choice. It was luck that saved me. I thought for a long I would be stuck forever in that pill form. At least, I thought as a small comfort, I would be alive."

The mod-soul stopped walking. He stared deeply into the eyes of Ichigo's spirit. "Do you know what it's like to be trapped? Do you know what it's like to be unable to move, unable to speak, or see. All I could do was fall in and out of consciousness. Sometimes I could hear things. I've been sane. I've been insane. You might not believe but I've been pure hearted of thought. I've imagined evil things too. I've made a whole mental of all the things I want to do."

The mod-soul clenched the hands he was controlling into fists. "I'll never get to half the things I want to do," he said, "I want to live. Not survive, live. I'll never truly get the chance."

"What kind of talk is that? Stop that!" Ichigo yelled.

The mod-soul tilted his head down. "You don't understand. Do you?" the mod-soul said, "A while back, I'm not sure how far back, I was brought to the shop of that former shinigami captain. It was several days, maybe weeks before I knew where I was. I was dreaming about big busted girls, food and having fun. I was in one of my more stupid phases of thought, my then favorite way to be. The moment I heard who he was, it all changed. I knew then I was in trouble. For the first time in years, I was certain I was going to die. My oncoming death has consumed my thinking for I don't know how long now. It's almost over shadowed my desire to live. I lost…"

The mod-soul went on speaking but Ichigo stopped paying attention. Ichigo went suddenly alert, looking around. _What is this, _he thought, _what's coming?_

"…and I was-Hey!" the mod-soul yelled, "Are you paying attention to me? I'll be dead by night tonight, tomorrow at the latest! The least you could do is listen when I speak! You're no better than the Soul Society. Not treating me like a person. With all your big talk too! You-"

Ichigo held up a hand. "Quiet," he said, "I sense something. I think a hollow is coming this way."

"What? Are you sure?" the mod-soul asked. His borrowed face was filled with nervous fear.

Ichigo nodded grimly. "It's coming because of me."

"What?" the mod-soul said. He laughed nervously. "Don't be ridiculous. You're probably imagining things. That's it. You've gone crazy! There's no hollow." The mod-soul wiped at his brow as if to wipe away sweat. "Phew! You had me going there for a minute." The mod-soul stared at the chain connecting them. His face turned annoyed. "Oh great! That means I'm tied to a mad man. I suppose it could be worse. I tied to someone who thought he was a bunny rabbit. Not that such a fellow could out leap me. I…"

A hollow came down the street. It was moving slowly forward. It was several feet behind the mod-soul. The hollow had six legs like a spider. Its skin was grayish green. There were orange spots on the joints of its legs. There were also orange spots on its back. Its white masked face was humanlike but much more angular and narrow. On the sides of the head were tufts of brown hair. On top of the head was a tuft of purple hair.

"It could definitely be worse," the mod-soul was saying, "I could be dealing with a mad man who thought he was a hollow. I could-"

"No!" Ichigo yelled, "You could be dealing with a real hollow! It's right behind you!"

"I'm not going to fall for that!" the mod-soul said smirking, "You might be crazy but I'm n-" The mod-soul didn't get a chance to finish speaking that thought. One of the spidery legs of the hollow reached out and knocked him down to the ground.

The mod-soul jumped up to stand beside Ichigo. He looked incredulous. "There really is hollow!"

"I told you!" Ichigo said.

"**Lookie here!" **the hollow said, **"Food! Yummy, yummy food! Such a strong spirit too!"**

The mod-soul appeared confused. "What's he talking about?" he asked, "I don't have any great spirit energy."

"No," Ichigo said, "but I do! At least that's what people keeping telling me!"

"**Don't you know," **the hollow said, **"It's not polite for food to talk when it's about to get eaten!"**

The mod-soul's eyes were wide. "Are you kidding me? I'm not staying around long enough to get eaten!" The mod-soul ducked low to the ground preparing to make a jump. From somewhere on the spider-like hollow's backside webs shot out. The webs came out in long rope like strands. The webs surrounded the mod-soul covering his body from chest to ankle. His arms and legs were tightly bound. The mod-soul fell to the ground, stretched out and limp. The mouth of the body mod-soul controlled, went wide in an o shape. The mod-soul began shrieking, "No! Nooo! Not like this!"

_I__ can't run, _Ichigo thought, _if I move too far, I'll snap the chain…If I don't run that thing is going to eat me! It won't be my body it gets but my soul…That's worse than death. Would I even still exist? What do I do? There's no good choice. I'm dead either way…and what about the mod-soul? If things keeping the way they have, one of these hollows is bound to get me someday…There's no choice…_

Ichigo stared at the mod-soul possessing his body. Ichigo nodded at him in a determined way. He then stood firmly yet defenseless, facing the hollow. "It's me, you want," Ichigo said, "Not him."

"**Heh heh hee!" **the hollow laughed. **"You're the one that drew me here. That's true."**

Ichigo glared at the hollow while gesturing at the mod-soul. "Leave him out of this."

"**HEH HEE HEE HEH!" **The hollow's laughter boomed. **"WHY SETTLE FOR THE MAIN MEAL, WHEN YOU CAN ALSO HAVE A DESERT TOO? I WANT ALL I CAN GET!"**

"Oww! Oh! Oww! Yes," the mod-soul said, "That's a very weak hollow. He's very showy. He's very loud. Oww! He's so loud, he's hurting my ears! Hasn't he ever heard of indoor voices?"

A another web line shot out, this one soon covered Ichigo wrapping him in the same way that the mod-soul had been. The mod-soul and the spirit of Ichigo were still connected by the chain of fate, which stretched out through the webbing.

"Oh eww!" the mod-soul shouted, "Those webs…Did they come from where I think they did? Um, gross!"

The hollow moved one of its legs toward the chain. It touched it. **"What is this?" **the hollow asked. It pulled at the chain.

Both the fake and the real Ichigo gasped and winced. The fake Ichigo, the mod-soul screamed. "Ahhh! That freaking hurts!"

_This rope… _Ichigo thought, _it's so tight…the chain…it's being pulled… that hurts…got to do something…_ Ichigo moved his arms against the webs that surrounded him.

"What are you doing?" the mod-soul asked, "It's no use! The disgusting webs are too tight!"

Ichigo struggled against the webs. A faint glow surrounded him. With an audible snap he broke free of the webs. He stood. He grabbed the mod-soul by his shirt collar and tried to drag him.

"How did you do that?" the mod-soul asked. He made a pouting face. "It's not fair!"

In less than three seconds a thought passed through Ichigo's mind_. I never want to see my face do that again! _Aloud he said, "Hey, aren't your legs super enhanced?"

The face identical and the same as Ichigo's became bewildered. "Huh?" the mod-soul asked. A look of recognition spread across his face. "Oh!" The mod-soul kicked his legs splitting the webbing that bound them. His arms were still bound as he jumped up to stand again.

"**How entertaining!" **the hollow said, **"Is this what is meant they say a dinner and a show? You want to play before I eat you?"**

At that moment the girl in the black hakama, the shinigami Rukia Kuchiki showed up. "You won't be eating anyone," she said. She raised her sword and cut off the hollow's head. It faded away. As it did so did its webs.

"You're my hero! No, my heroine!" the mod-soul shouted in a giddy voice. He ran to Rukia. He tried to hug and kiss her. She kicked him hard to the ground. As the chain moved with the mod-soul, Ichigo moved too, in order to keep the chain from pulling too much. With her foot on his chest, Rukia looked down at the mod-soul. Her glare was as fierce as any that Ichigo might give. "Who are you? You're not Ichigo Kurosaki."

"Another brooding person?" The mod-soul was for a second dismayed. Then he grinned. "At least you're beautiful."

Rukia looked at the mod-soul then the chain of fate. Her gazed traveled up the chain until she was looking at Ichigo. Rukia stared bewilderedly at Ichigo. He scowled back at her. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out.

"That's the real one," Rukia said, "but what are you?" She moved her foot off of the body the mod-soul was inhabiting.

The mod-soul's smile was nervous and unconvincing. "I'm a gikon."

Rukia crossed her arms. "I don't think so."

"I am so!" the mod-soul yelled, "I'm a gikon. I am! I'm a Kaizo Konpako! I am!"

Rukia's eyes widened. "You're a mod-soul? You're illegal! I thought all mod-souls were destroyed!"

"Did I say that last bit out loud?" the mod-soul asked, "Oops!" Still laying down on the ground, he held up his borrowed hands in front of his face, in a defensive manner. "Shinigami lady, please don't kill me! Please don't kill me! Please, please don't!"

On the ground Ichigo's spirit suddenly began to move. He was lying face down. He raised up to a sitting postin resting sort of on his knees. He stared up with at Rukia. "You! Shingami!

Rukia shot Ichigo an annoyed glance. Ichigo corrected himself. "Kuchiki-san," Ichigo said, "Don't hurt him. He's committed no crime. Let him live."

Rukia was near emotionless as she said, "Soul Society laws demand that he be destroyed. Those laws protect the human world."

"Hey," the mod-soul said, "If you destroy me while I'm in this body, what happens to this guy's chain of fate?"

"I do not know," Rukia said. All three, the shinigami, the mod-soul and the human spirit stared at the chain.

"My,my," someone said. All three turned their heads to see who spoke. It was Kisuke Urahara.

"I don't think I've seen anything quite like this before," Urahara said, "Mind you, I could be mistaken but I doubt it. The fact that you're not trying to run makes all this equipment we brought quite useless. " Urahara stepped over to where the mod-soul in Ichigo's body was laying.

The mod-soul rose up to sit. The mod-soul put his hands on the ground behind him. He tried to crawl backwards. "Wait! We can talk about this can't we?" The mod-soul tilted the head down. He spoke fast, so fast one could hardly keep up with what he was saying. "No , we can't can we?" he said, "You have to get that guy back in his body. I mean who know what could happen to him? I don't want to live if costs someone else his life. I couldn't live with myself if that happened. I c-"

"No! Wait! You can't kill him! You can't!" the real Ichigo was yelling at the same time, from where he was sitting. He crawled toward the body that properly belonged to him.

Urahara didn't seem to be listening to either of them. He lifted his cane. He placed the cane straight through the forehead of the body. It went through as smoothly as if there was no body there. The white ball shaped pill popped out of the back of head. The ball rolled along the sidewalk until it came to a stop. The body fell down with the eyes glazed over and vacant, because there was no longer a soul inside it.

Urahara bent down and picked up the pill. He stood back up smiled. "Mission accomplished!" he said, He looked over at his companions. Tessai and two of the kids, Ururu and Jinta were standing several feet away. Ururu had something huge and tube shaped and covered in cloth, strung across her back. Jinta had something smaller strapped to his back. Tessai had a sword strapped to his. Tessai's arms were crossed.

"I thought we going to see some action!" Jinta complained.

"What are you going to with him?" Ichigo asked.

Urahara held up the pill as he looked back at Ichigo. "With this?" he said, "Discard it."

"You can't," Ichigo said, "He's a person. He should be allowed to live." Ichigo grimaced as if in pain. "You Soul Society people can't just create a being for your convenience. If you do you have a responsibility to it. You can't just destroy someone because it's convenient. You're not even in Soul Society anymore. You're in exile. Why would you obey their more stupid rules?"

"Because not doing so would get me in greater trouble with them," Urahara said, "We'll discuss this further at a later time. Right now I do believe you're about to faint." Five seconds after Urahara stopped speaking his prediction came true as Ichigo's eyes rolled into the back of his head. When Ichigo's head hit the ground, Urahara looked over at Rukia. "Shinigami do your duty. Restore the spirit of Ichigo back to his body."

Rukia nodded.

Later that evening on the floor of Urahara's shop a very yellow plush toy lion suddenly stood up. The little boy Akira stood near it with a beaming smile. "Do you want to play?" Akira asked.

The plush toy lion looked at its paws. "What happened?" it said, "I'm alive?" It's voice was that of the mod-soul. "Yes! Yes! Yes! But wait, what sort of body am I in?" The plush toy began to freakout. "What am I? What in the worlds am I?"

Ichigo who was also standing near, reached down and picked up the toy. He held it by its head. Ichigo scowled. "Listen, you," he said, "You've got a body. You're alive. I managed to keep Urahara-san from destroying you. Don't complain."

Urahara walked by with a spring to his step that made him look almost like he was skipping. He smiled cheerily. "Remember Ichigo, he's your responsibility. You spoke up for him. You look after him. If I were you I would name him."

"What!" the mod-soul in the plush toy yelled. He did a double take glancing at Urahara then back at Ichigo. "There's no way! I'm not staying with him! He's moody. He's broody. He is not a big breasted girl! He's not even a flat chested girl!"

"Shut up!" Ichigo shouted.

The mod-soul went quiet for all of thirty seconds. When he spoke up he was much more calm. "I'm a modified soul, a Kaizo Konpako. Call me Kai."

"Nah," Ichigo said, "That's too cool for you. Kon sounds more like it." Ichigo looked at his watch. "It's past six. Come on."

"Where?" the newly named Kon asked.

"Home," Ichigo said, "I have a curfew at seven. I have to get home before curfew. Whether I like or not, and I don't, you're coming with me." Ichigo walked out of the shop carrying the plush toy.

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER EIGHT: REAL GHOST BUSTING!


	8. Real Ghost Busting

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER EIGHT: REAL GHOST BUSTING!

In the dining area of the Kurosaki home, Ichigo sat at the table flipping through a magazine. He was bored. His eyes appeared half closed. _Fortune telling, _he thought, _I hate fortune telling. It's all fake. I hate Feng Shui and psychics. I hate those scams that take advantage of the gullible. Those trades that take money from people for things they can't see. If people want to be duped though, that's their business…all the horoscopes Yuzu showed for me this week showed that my sign cancer was headed for bad luck and trouble…I'm not worried because I don't believe into that stuff. Not one bit…Besides it can't be any worse than what I've been going through this past two and a half months…_

Ichigo opened the magazine to a page that showed a horoscope. 'Madam Akiyama's Global Astrology," was written on the top of the page. Ichigo scanned down it to till he got to Cancer. _Yet another doom and gloom prediction…_

The horoscope read, 'Terrible things will happen this week, one after another, and your life may sink into a pit of despair.'

_Yeah right Madam Psychic, _Ichigo thought, _Madam Stupid is more like it! Try being chased or nearly killed by five different hollows! And narrowly dodging more than half a dozen others… and that only because I could sense them before they sensed me…These past few months has been one terrible thing after another…The only bad thing that happened this week was broken shoelaces._

Ichigo slammed the magazine down on the table. There was a glass of half-drunken juice on the table in front of him. Ichigo almost knocked it over. He barely caught it in time. He turned his head to look at the television which was on in another section of the room.

On the screen an announcer in a business suit was holding a microphone. "...and here he comes folks," the announcer said, "the charismatic spirit medium of the new century! The messenger of Hades!'

In the background behind the announcer was a flight of stairs. A man was coming down the stairs. The announcer pointed at the man. "The one," the announcer continued speaking, "the only! Mister Don Kanonji!"

The man coming down the stairs was tall looking with broad shoulders. When he reached the bottom of the stairs, the camera zeroed in on his upper torso and face. He was tan skinned. He had dreadlocks. He had a mustache. Dark round sunglasses covered his eyes. He had on an absurd fur trimmed and an equally ridiculous looking fur trimmed jacket with a cape attached to the jacket. "Spirits are always with you!" he shouted. He crossed arms, his hands up towards his shoulders with his fingers halfway bent. He shouted out Bohahaha!"

Sitting in front of the television Isshin and Yuzu stuck the exact same pose with their arms and hands as the man on the TV. Isshin was wearing an outfit that was reminiscent of love a medieval court jester. In perfect unison Isshin and Yuzu shouted out, "Bohahaha!"

Standing on the floor to the left of Yuzu was Kon, who was also trying to do the pose. The plush lion body the mod-soul was in made it awkward. The seams of the plush body's arms were stretching showing a hint of cotton filler. "Bohahaha!" Kon yelled seconds after the others had.

Ichigo's brows went down in a scowl. _I despise that psychic TV show…but my family's nuts about it. _"What's with the pose?" Ichigo asked, "Don't tell me you're trying to imitate that phony!"

Yuzu turned around to face Ichigo. "Don Kanonji isn't a phony," she said, "His show Ghost Bust is cool. Journey to Bust Ghosts On Hollowed Ground is an incredibly popular show right now!" Yuzu smiled. "I wish I could see ghost like he can."

Ichigo rolled his eyes. "He's a fake!"

"So what?" Kon said, "Big sister is right in one thing. The show is cool!"

Ichigo glared at Kon. "She is not your sister!" he yelled, "You're only here because Urahara gave me no other choice. Do you want to die? If not, behave! Be glad you're not stuck in my room all day or something."

"Okay," Kon said in tone that suggested he was humoring Ichigo, "Somebody woke on the wrong side of the bed this morning. I'll just pretend you never said that."

Yuzu nodded. Kon and Yuzu turned back around to face the television set. Once again, Isshin, Yuzu, and Kon shouted out, "Bohahaha!" They struck the pose again.

"Hopeless," Ichigo muttered. He raised the glass of juice to his lips. _It's hard to believe something that fake is popular. That show they're watching is Journey to Bust Ghosts On Hollowed Ground, Ghost Bust for short. It comes on every Wednesday night at 8pm. It's on at primetime. It's hard to believe that something that so obviously reeks of fraud could be so successful. Even though it only on the airwaves last spring, it's already risen past 25% in viewer ratings... I hate that show!_

"Yes," the man on TV said, "It stinks of a worthless ghost…"

Ichigo groaned. _I know exactly what he's going to say next. His tagline..._

"…smells like evil spirits!" the man on the TV said.

Ichigo placed the glass back down on the table. _That show's not only fake and cheap... it's predictable. It's boring! The weirdness only it makes annoying. Case in point: the name of the star is Kanonji Misaomaru… a really weird name…also known as Don Kanonji, another weird name… he's a psychic who made his debut on this show. It's unbelievable but true that he's popular than most idols among most middle school and high school girls…_

Karin was sitting across from Ichigo. She was staring blankly into space. Her eyes seemed to be staring right through Ichigo.

"What are you looking at me like that for?" Ichigo asked.

"It's nothing," Karin said, with an uncharacteristic dreamy smile. Ichigo's brows went up. "You're not going to watch that stupid show?"

"Yeah." Karin lifted the glass of juice that she had and drank from it. "It's like you said, it's stupid. Old Beard Face is bound to have dealt things as a soul reaper. He's most likely the real deal. If we could ever him to admit it, that might be interesting." Karin placed her glass down. "But that show?" She wiped juice from her mouth with her hand. "Not so much. It's just a stupid show. A stupid pageant." Karin smirked. "I bet that guy can't even see ghosts."

_She's right, _Ichigo thought. A look of irritation crossed his face. He turned to look toward the TV set. His eyes were not on the TV but his father's back. "Hey Dad!" Ichigo shouted, "I get why Kon and Yuzu are watching the show. Kon's weird. Yuzu wishes she could see more than blurs. But why are you watching it? You can see ghosts! You've fought hollows! You used to lead some sort of hollow fighting team, I think. So why are you watching that stupid show!"

"Don't start that business again," Isshin said without turning around. "Your poor dad doesn't want to talk about his painful past. If you keep it up, Daddy will have no choice but to pretend that he doesn't know what you're talking about! Now hush up so I can watch the show."

"Knock it off Dad!" Ichigo yelled, "I know you are, you were a shinigami. Everyone in the room knows that!"

"Has my son gone crazy?" Isshin asked. He stood up and turned around moving toward the table. He walked right to where Ichigo was sitting. There was a goofy grin on Isshin's face. He grabbed at Ichigo's head with one arm. With his free hand he began messing up Ichigo's hair. "My poor, poor boy!"

"Cut that out, Dad!" Ichigo yelled. Under his breath, he muttered once more, "Hopeless, utterly hopeless." He grabbed a hold of his father's arm to try to break free.

"Ahh!" Yuzu screamed from where she was still sitting in front of the TV. At the sound of her voice, Isshin let go of Ichigo. They stared at her. Yuzu stood. She jumped up and down pointing at the TV screen. She picked up Kon and spun around with him. "They just announced it," she said with great joy, "Ghost Bust is coming to Kara Kura Town, to that old abandoned hospital, next week!"

_See, _Ichigo thought, _it's next week that's truly going to suck. You can't trust anything that psychics say!_

The smiling face of Orihime greeted Ichigo as he entered the classroom the next day at school. He smiled at her slightly. Then she struck the pose with her arms crossed in the x shape. She shouted out, "Bohahaha!"

Ichigo jumped back a few feet, startled. "Huh?"

"What a weak reaction, Kurosaki-kun," Orihime said, "Could it be you don't about this?"

Ichigo stood straighter. He scowled. He pointed at Orihime. "Ghost Bust?"

"Bingo!" Orihime said as she clapped her hands together, "I'm so excited about next week! Ghost Bust is coming to town! Are you going?" Before Orihime could say another word Tatsuki walked up to her and dragged her away.

At lunchtime the day after that, Ichigo was sitting at his usual place on the roof. His friend Keigo Asano sat to his left. Mizuiro Kojima sat the right of Ichigo.

"What do you mean you're not going?" Asano asked, "Orihime even asked you out. If you don't like her, I could-"

"No, you won't!" Ichigo yelled.

"So why haven't you told her you like her?" Kojima asked, "Why haven't you asked her out?"

Asano smiled in way that was almost a leer. "She's only one of the most attractive girls in class. We know she likes you. So come on! Why don't you ask her out?"

_Because,_ Ichigo thought, _I can't…every time I try to say something meaningful, I feel awkward… worse still, I never know when I'm going to have get away from a hollow…she doesn't need to be around someone who's practically a hollow magnet!_

Both Asano and Kojima crisscrossed their arms, yelling out, "Bohahaha!"

Ichigo glared turning his head left then right. "Would you stop that!" he yelled, "The best thing about this weekend," he said, "is that I can spend hours without having to listen to anything more about Ghost Bust!"

On Saturday afternoon, Ichigo stood inside Urahara's Shop. Tessai was resorting a shelf. Ichigo was talking to him. "…and the worst thing is they shut up about it!" Ichigo said, "I'm gonna be glad when next Wednesday is over. I can't stand Ghost Bust! I ha-"

Kisuke Urahara was suddenly standing behind him with arms crossed in an x shape. "Bohahhaha!"

"Not you too!" Ichigo yelled.

"What?" Urahara said, with a cheery smile on his face, "The kids love that show." As if to prove his point, all three of the children that were usually in the shop were standing around Urahara making the pose. Ururu, Jinta and Akira all yelled at the top of their lungs, "BOHAHAHA!"

"Bohahaha!" Tessai shouted.

"Gah!" Ichigo lost his balance. He nearly tripped. He glared intensely at everyone in the shop. He stomped out the front door.

"You can't please everyone," Urahara said.

On Monday morning in an athletic field next to the high school, Ichigo was glaring up at his friend Yasutora 'Chad' Sado. Chad was not a young man of many words. The tall youth was quiet. He did not yell. He did however cross his arms in the pose.

"I'm not going," Ichigo said.

In the classroom next day, Asano was making pouting faces. He and Ichigo were standing near a window. "What do you mean you're not going?" Asano asked "Everyone in our town will be there! You don't want to be known as the only guy who didn't show up!"

"How creative," Ichigo said sarcastically even as Asano tried unsuccessfully to hit him. Ichigo ducked and moved away. "You're not even from Karakura. You live in Naruki City! What's this 'our town stuff?"

Tears poured out of Asano's eyes. "You're so harsh, man."

"Oh, please," Ichigo said. He rolled his eyes. "I'm not going and that's final!"

Wednesday evening at 7:30pm Ichigo stood looking very annoyed over a hundred feet away from the abandoned Matsukura Hospital. "For once," he said, "I wish the curfew was in place. That I was back home."

Ichigo sister Yuzu grabbed one of his arms. "Come on Ichigo!" she said trying to pull him forward. He let her do so for several steps worth of walking.

On Yuzu's back was a backpack. The zipper on the backpack moved though no hand was on top of it. Kon stuck his plush lion head out of the backpack. "It's so hot in there!" he said, "It's hard to breathe!"

Ichigo pulled his arm away from Yuzu. He glared at Kon. "What are you doing here? You were supposed to stay at home! Someone could see you!"

"Oh you poor dear," Yuzu said, swinging the backpack off in order to reach Kon, "Poor Kon-chan! Let me carry you."

"Chan? How dare you! I'm male! I'm older than you!" Kon shouted the last sentence a little too loud. Other people who were walking toward the hospital glanced their way.

Karin was moving forward beside Yuzu. Karin's brows went down. "Don't carry him! Not even if he promises to be still. You're not that young. You shouldn't be holding a stuffed animal in public! You'll look like a baby! All the kids from our middle school will see if you do. Stuff him back in the bag, now!"

Kon tried to look fierce. The angry look he gave was instead somehow cute. "Hey sister you're being mean!"

Karin scowled at Kon. "If I was your sister," Karin said, "You would soon regret it." Karin glared at Kon with the intensity of a killer.

Kon's eyes and mouth went wide. He ducked back in the backpack. He pulled the zipper closed from the inside. From inside the bag his muffled voice could be heard saying, "I got to get me a human form gigai. I've-"

"Silence!" Karin snapped, "Or you're going the washing machine when we get home!" Kon went quiet.

"My wonderful family!" Isshin said smiling. He was walking a few steps behind his kids.

"My embarrassing family," Ichigo muttered, his mood and facial expressions almost the exact opposite of his father's. As Yuzu and Isshin started posing with their arms crossed, Ichigo walked forward away from them.

The crowd gathered around the hospital parking was blocked from going to far by security. Wooden barriers barred the way. Near the barriers was a van with TV camera being unloaded. The camera crew was moving busily. The security was brushing aside anyone in the crowd who got in the way. Among the crowd were a great number of Karakura Town citizens. Familiar faces included Orihime, Tatsuki, Kojima, Asano, and Chad.

Asano and Kojima walked toward Ichigo pointing at him. "You came!" they shouted at the same time."

"Shut up! Be quiet!" Ichigo yelled, "Do you want me to kill you?"

Asano and Kojima moved away from him quickly. Asano was saying softly in a worried voice, "Oh my, the young people today are so violent! Makes me feel old before my time!"" This only increased Ichigo's glare at him.

Orihime came towards Ichigo. She stopped less than a foot from him. She tilted her head down. "I'm sorry I didn't know how you disliked shows like this. Tatsuki told me."

"I'm here aren't I?" Ichigo said. He turned back to look at his family. "Besides, if I didn't come Karin said she wouldn't. Dad and Yuzu would've looked pitiful coming here alone." _And, _Ichigo thought to himself, _Kon probably would've caused a scene! I don't want to even consider what might have happened…He's as big a fan as Yuzu if not more so. He's seen it what? Once, maybe twice? He is so annoying!_

Ichigo was glaring in an extreme thinking of Kon. Orihime didn't know what he was thinking. She appeared startled. She smiled weakly and nervously. "Oh, you're here with your family?" she said, "That's so kind. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother you." Orihime looked upset. She ran back toward Tatsuki as if something were after her.

"No, Inoue-san! Orihime-san! Wait!" Ichigo shouted. It was too late. She moved out of hearing range.

"You do like her!" Keigo Asano said.

Ichigo's father came closer to Ichigo. Isshin grinned his usual goofy grin. "What's this I hear? You like a girl? Ah, to be young and in love! I know what that's like."

"Shut up! Both of you!" Ichigo shouted. _The funny thing, _Ichigo thought, _is that they're both sort of right. I do like her…I think I might be able to love her…but I can't allow that…Not with all this uncertainty in my life…I wish I never noticed her that way!_

Ichigo pushed his way forward through the crowd, followed by Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin. "All these people," he said, "The TV crew is going think that Karakura Town doesn't get any entertainment." Ichigo stopped moving when he reached the barrier. He pulled out a digest sized magazine from one of his pants pockets. He opened up the magazine and began flipping through it. He shook his head. Scowling he said, "What freaks." In under thirty seconds Ichigo's family stood next to him.

Ichigo shut the magazine. He turned his head, looking about at the crowd. Most of the people were smiling or talking. Ichigo saw someone a few feet away who was about his age. Someone who was doing none of the things that the rest of the crowd was. Much like Ichigo, this guy was scowling. _He has the right idea, _Ichigo thought. The guy Ichigo was looking at had chin length black hair and rectangular shaped glasses. He was wearing a nice white, short sleeved shirt with buttons. It was not usual casual wear that a teenager wore. Ichigo raised his brows in a puzzled manner. _What the heck? There's something about him…He looks familiar. Have I seen him somewhere before?_

The black haired teen's face relaxed little. His face was serious. He appeared to be waiting for something. Ichigo slapped his own forehead with his palm. _I'm the idiot here! He is waiting for something… this stupid show! _Curiosity led Ichigo to move slowly along the barrier. He slid closer and closer towards the other young man. _I'm sure I've him somewhere before, but where? The hair is not right…maybe he had a different hairstyle or hair color…Nah! This guy doesn't seem the type to change his hair color…_

A member of the TV crew moved past the barrier with a large stand. A light was attached to the top end of the stand. The man with the stand switched the light on. It shined like a spot light on the hospital. The moment it did, Ichigo went ramrod straight. He stopped moving. His face filled with worry. The black haired boy with the glasses also went stiff.

"Aw, no!" Ichigo said aloud, "A hollow!" He dropped the magazine he was holding. It fell to the ground face up. The horoscope prediction on the page read, 'This week is filled great things. New opportunities will come your way. You will make a lot of new friends. A whole new world may open up to you!' _This sort of thing, _Ichigo thought, _is why I don't believe in psychics! New opportunities indeed! New disasters!_

The young man with the glasses was looking at Ichigo in a startled manner. "You know about hollows?" he asked.

Ichigo stared back at him with an equal amount of shock. "Um, yes. I do." He shifted his attention back to the ruined hospital. "There's one inside that hospital. I think there is. It doesn't quite feel right. It's weird."

"Kurosaki-san," the black haired teen said, "I believe you're mistaken. I-"

"Huh?" Ichigo interrupted him. "You know my name. How?"

The black haired teen shot Ichigo an annoyed glance. "We're in the same class at school. Of course I know who you are. Also your spirit energy has been slowly rising. I've been sensing a noticeable difference in it for the past two months."

_Why, _Ichigo thought, _don't I remember seeing this guy at school? I know I've seen him before…and it wasn't at school…no, it wasn't him… _An image appeared in Ichigo's mind of a man who looked like an older, white haired version of the teen. _That's it! _Aloud, Ichigo shouted, "Ryuken Ishida! That's who you look like!"

"That is my father's name," the teen said coldly.

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm not always good with names and faces. If I don't count them as important, I forget them. I don't know yours, sorry."

"It's Uryu Ishida," the teen said.

"I've met your dad," Ichigo said, "You do know he's the last of the Quincy?"

Uryu Ishida's glare was like ice in its coolness. "My father is not Quincy. He turned his back on the heritage. He's never had anything to do with it. I am the last Quincy. How is it that you know anything about the Quincy?"

"News flash," Ichigo said sarcastically, "Your dad may or may not be the last Quincy but he is definitely a Quincy! I've seen the storehouse. I've seen his bow and his cross!"

"You're ly-" Uryu started to say. He stopped, his eyes going wide. "The hollow!" He turned back to look at the hospital.

"Oh great," Ichigo said, "Now you sense it!"

Emerging from the hospital was a spirit floating high in the air. It landed on the parking lot pavement. It was the spirit of a man. His arms and legs were chained. The chains stretched back to the abandoned hospital. The spirit let out a loud wailing noise.

Several feet away at the back of the crowd Asano was striking Don Kanonji's pose. Kojima was annoyed. "Quit that! It's embarrassing," Kojima said, "We were only doing to bug Ichigo and he's already gone by now. So stop it!"

"What? Where did they go?" Asano asked, "Has everyone up and left? I thought we were going to cheer together!" Asano turned around, bumping into Chad. "Oh, you're still here?"

Chad's face was serious. He paid no attention to Asano. "Does anyone else here that?" he asked, "It's like a strange voice. It's not human sounding."

"Um." Asano said, "Would you stop talking like that? I don't hear anything. You're giving me the me creeps. This place is already creepy enough. You're just imagining things. A place like this is already scary. There's no need to invent more!"

Chad nodded. "Yeah that it's it, I must be just imagining things."

In another part of the crowd, Tatsuki glanced around wildly. "What is that voice," she asked. Orhime pulled at her sleeve. Tatsuki looked at her with worry, "Orihime, you too?"

"Yes," Orihime said, appearing scared, "I thought so. You too, Tatsuki-chan?"

Over near the barrier but not so close to Ichigo was his family. A good number of people in the crowd, and Ichigo's own actions had separated them from him. Yuzu was glancing around. "I wonder Ichigo is?"

Karin was frowning. "I shouldn't have come here." _What an awful voice, _she thought, _I didn't know such an upset spirit was here… I wouldn't have come if I had known…that stupid phony medium can't do anything about this…_ "Dad, do you feel that?" she asked.

Isshin's usually goofy face was serious. "Yes, I do. It's an earthbound spirit. One that's well on its way to becoming a hollow. It shouldn't be too dangerous. Not for six or seven months at least. Still I don't want to hang around here." Isshin moved through the crowd pushing people aside as he went. "Come on, we've got to find Ichigo!" His daughters followed him.

A few feet away, Ichigo stood next to Uryu. Both were staring at the spirit that was chained to the hospital. Ichigo's brows were raised. "What is that? It feels sort of like a hollow. But where's the mask?"

"It's not a hollow, son," Isshin said as he reached Ichigo, "Not yet. Right now, it's a demi-hollow."

"A what?" Uryu asked.

Isshin smiled in a way that was more embarrassed than goofy. "Nothing. Just family talk. A role playing game."

Ichigo glared at his father. "Dad, knock it off! That's a lame excuse!" Ichigo yelled, "He already knows about hollows!"

"Oh." Isshin's eyes were wide, focused on Uryu. "You must be Ryuken's son. You look just like him!" Isshin gave a goofy smile.

Uryu's cold gaze was upon Isshin. "Who are you? I sense no spirit energy from you. That girl behind you-" Uryu pointed at Karin "-has a good amount. You do not. How is it that you can sense anything at all?"

"Don't too sure of yourself," Isshin said. His voice and body language took an air of bragging. "I have my ways of masking my energy. I do!"

"Yeah right," Ichigo muttered, "A gigai that Urahara-san made. You did nothing Dad."

"A gigai?" Uryu said, hearing Ichigo's mutters, "That means, you're shinigami!"

Isshin looked proud and arrogant for a moment. "A former captain I am. I'm much stronger that I seem. I am!" Isshin spoiled the cool image he was trying to build by grinning in his normal goofy way. Isshin's face shifted to a more solemn look. He stared up at the spirit in front of hospital. "See the chain on its chest? The hole in its chest is only partially open. It'll take months for it to open fully. If the ghost is aggravated enough, it might take only weeks. We're not real in danger but I still don't won't us hanging around. If something happens there's no shinigami around who could take care of it. I can't exactly do it. I'm in exile. I've got to keep a low profile. "

Ichigo looked at his father in disbelief. "Like you're doing right now?" he said.

"Dad," Yuzu said, coming to stand beside Isshin, "I want to stay! I want to see Don Kinonji!"

Isshin's expression and tone was goofy but his words were of a very serious nature. "You don't want Daddy to go to the Soul Society's jail do you?" he asked, "It would be straight to the executioner that I would go next!" "What?" Ichigo was shocked. _Dad never said that before, _he thought, _I know he's hiding from something…how honest is he being? It's impossible to tell… He's acting so ridiculous… how can he grin like that while discussing something that serious?_

Karin's brows, too were raised. Yuzu just looked confused. Yuzu was the only one in the family that didn't fully believe that Isshin was a shinigami. "Don't start talking about Soul Society, Dad," Yuzu said, "It's silly. It can't be real!"

Ichigo glared down at his sister. "You believe in ghosts but not shinigami? How can you be like that?" _Then again she can't anything more than blurs when she sees ghosts…she has seen shinigami but only the same way she sees ghosts…if I couldn't really see them, would I believe? I don't believe in anything I can't see. Why would Yuzu be any different?_

Ichigo pointed at Yuzu's backpack. "How do you explain Kon?"

"Yes, sister," Kon's voice said inside the backpack, "How do you explain me? I was made by Soul Society!"

Uryu stared at the backpack. "W-what is that?"

The backpack zipper began to pull open from the inside. Kon's plush yellow paws began to stick out.

"If you know what's good for you," Karin said to Kon, "You'll get back inside the backpack, now!"

"Yes, scary sister!" Kon stuck his paws back inside.

"A mod-soul in a teddy bear," Karin said, glancing at the backpack then looking up at Uryu.

"I resent that!" Kon shouted his voice muffled by the backpack. "I'm a stuffed lion!"

Karin reached across the backpack and pulled the zipper shut. "Just stay quiet!"

Yuzu smiled gently. "Well," she said, "maybe some of it's true. I never it was all fake. It's just Dad's not exactly the most heroic of figures."

Karin scowled. "You never saw him action in that day. An old beard face is not all that Dad is." Karin turned her attention on her father. "If you think you're going to trick us into believing otherwise you're crazy! Ichigo and I both know the truth."

The spirit connected to the hospital started moving wildly. **"This my hospital! I won't hand it over to anyone!" **it yelled, **"You want to come any further you've got to pay! If you come in without paying I'll kill ya!"**

Ichigo pointed at the spirit. "What is he going on about?"

"His regrets," Isshin said grimly, "Spirits with regrets stay in the human world. Their severed chains of fate attach themselves to the strongest source of regret. If the regret is a person, the ghost becomes an obsessed spirit. If the regret is tied to a place, the spirit becomes an earthbound spirit. His regrets have something to do with this old hospital."

"**I was supposed to inherit this place from my old man!" **the spirit shouted, **"But no! He had to go and leave to my younger brother! That punk never deserved it! It should have been mine! I was going to drive a Cadillac. I was going to live in a huge mansion. All the ladies would have loved me! I was going to be like an aristocrat! I was going to drink fine wines! I might have traveled the world! I would have raked in the cash. I'd have been incredibly rich! But no! My stupid old father left it to the wrong son! Unforgivable!"**

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. "He's carrying one heck of a greedy grudge."

"Silence everyone!" a voice shouted through speakers, "And now, the broadcast will begin in 5,4,3,2,…1!"

"Oh!" Yuzu clapped her hands. "It's starting! We have to stay! We just have to! We can't miss this!"

"Good evening everyone," the announcer for the show said,. He stood in front of a camera with his microphone in hand. "Tonight's broadcast is labeled 'Live Emergency Broadcast Special' and we have come to this abandoned hospital in Karakura Town, Tokyo. It is said at night that an vengeful spirit's howl's can be heard. The good citizens of Karakura Town do not dare come near here. Perhaps our hero can do something? And here he comes! The charismatic spirit medium of the new century, the messenger of Hades, Mister Don Kanonji!"

Up high in the sky there was a helicopter. It was so distant it was hard to see. Something moved away from helicopter. It was Don Kanonji jumping out of the helicopter. His cape flowed outwards as he fell forward toward the ground. "Hello babies!" he shouted, "Spirits are always with you!"

The crowd cheered. "He so cool!" Yuzu said, cheering along with almost everyone else. Isshin, Ichigo, Uryu, and Karin were not cheering. Isshin looked worried. Ichigo and Karin both appeared annoyed. Uryu was staring intently at the earthbound spirit.

A parachute opened up. Don Kanonji floated safely down, yelling out, "Bohahaha!" He landed, and released the chute. He walked over to stand next to the announcer.

"What a wonderful entrance into this special!" the announcer said.

"Hehehe." Don Kanonji laughed. "Why yes, it was."

Ichigo turned his head from the direction of the hospital. He glared at his father. "Why isn't there a shinigami here to- what's it called- a soul removal? Why aren't they here?"

"Close enough," Isshin said, "It's called a soul burial. Shinigami don't always sense earthbound spirits if they're not be active. I'll get Kisuke-san to tell someone about it later. It's not likely to become a hollow for months maybe even years, unless someone does something to the chain-."

"This one is particularly bad," Don Kanonji said as he walked closer to the hospital, "The smell of spirits is incredibly strong. This certainly…"

The crowd cheered once more, their voices drowning out Don Kanonji saying his tagline, "…SMELLS LIKE BAD SPIRITS!"

"The earthbound spirit does not," Isshin said to Ichigo, "look like it's at its worst point of agony. It is not constantly wailing. If it did then I'd be worried. As I was trying to say, as long no one does anything to the chain of fate attached to the hole in his chest, there should be no problems. That fun but phony medium can't do anything like that. He'd have to have real powers. I can't sense anything abnormal from him. He might have very weak spiritual powers, too weak to be easily sensed… but what are the chances of that?"

"This is quite a bad spirit," Don Kanonji said. He looked straight at the spirit. "With my super spirit stick I'll finish him with one blow!" Don Kanonji pulled out a staff from somewhere inside his cape. The staff had wings and a heart design at the top. He raised the staff high. With the staff he hit the place where the chain of fate attached to the spirit's chest. The hole opened up wider

Back on the crowd's side of the barrier, standing next to Isshin, Ichigo was gaping in shock. "What are the chances?" Ichigo said, incredulously, "I'd say pretty high!"

"That's not good!" Isshin said.

Uryu was suddenly holding a bow. Ichigo grabbed at the bow. "Hey!" Ichigo shouted, "You can't do that! That's not a hollow! That's a human soul!'

Isshin nodded grimly. "It's a plus but it won't be for long. Not if that guy keeps that up."

The spirit wailed louder. Don Kanonji was hitting the hollow hole repeatedly. "It only a hurt a little baby!" Don Kanonji said, "Don't worry, I'll send you to heaven soon!"

Karin covered her ears. _That voice, _she thought, _…make it stop!"_

"That's it!" Ichigo muttered. Ichigo grabbed a good hold on the bow yanking it from Uryu's hands. He flung it out toward the camera crew and Don Kanonji. He then put a hand on a barrier post. He lept over the barrier. "Hey you!" Ichigo shouted, "Stop that stupid!"

"My bow!" Uryu yelled as he leapt and followed Ichigo.

"Daddy's coming too!" Isshin said. Yuzu grabbed his left arm. Karin grabbed his right. They kept him from moving forward.

"If the shinigami stuff is true," Yuzu said, "then you'll just get in trouble! I don't want to loose you!"

Karin glared at Isshin. "Way to keep a low profile, Dad!"

"Call for security!" a camera man yelled.

Security guards came running. Half a dozen of them grabbed Ichigo. Another smaller group of three grabbed Uryu. Uryu broke free and grabbed his bow only to be knocked down and pinned to the ground.

"Way to go!" Ichigo glared at Uryu, "There were only too of them! You just had to go for that bow, didn't you?" The men surrounding Ichigo pulled his arms behind his back. One of the security guards walked over to pick up the bow.

"That's mine!" Uryu yelled. "It's a family heirloom!"

"You shouldn't have brought it here, kid." the security guard holding the bow said. He turned the bow over in his hands. "Funny thing this. Where's the arrows?"

"Switch to commercials!" a camera man yelled.

Across Karakura Town people saw Ichigo on live on television just before the commercial hit the airwaves. The sight seen was Ichigo struggling against the security guards.

In a bedroom a girl with long black hair sat on the floor in front of a TV. Two other girls sat on a bed, one with short red hair and glasses, the other with short brown hair. They gasped in surprise at image of Ichigo on TV. The brown hair girl said, "That's Kurosaki-san!"

The red haired girl with the glasses said, "Isn't he the one you told me about? The one who made all those lewd suggestions the Saturday before last? If only I liked boys…"

Reiichi Oshima was a bully who had tried to beat up Ichigo without success. Reiichi and some friends were watching the TV in his living room. "Kurosaki?" he said, in shock.

A woman with glasses and black hair pulled back in a ponytail was in her kitchen eating. She too stared at a TV screen. "What are those two children doing?"

The ad came on the TV saying, "You too can have a super spirit stick just like Don Kanonji's!

Back at the hospital parking lot, Ichigo could watch helplessly. "Let go!" he shouted. It was no use. The security guards held tight.

Out in the crowd, Asano held tight to Chad as Chad tried to move forward. "I know you want to help Ichigo, but this time it's his fault! You can't do anything! You'll make it worse!"

Don Kanonji flung his staff into the center of the spirit's chest. He did again and again. The face of the spirit began to splinter like glass breaking.

"Too late!" Isshin yelled from where he was being held back by his daughters.

A blinding white light filled the area. An loud explosion came. In homes across the country, the commercials ended and people saw the sight of the Don Kanonji hitting thin air followed by the explosion sound.

"Folks!" the announcer said, "I have no idea what happened. That explosion…"

The light faded. Don Kanonji stood jumping up and down. "Mission accomplished!"

"Mister Don Kanonji is alive and well!" the announcer shouted. "He is giving his mission accomplished shout! That must mean the exorcism is completed!"

Ichigo looked on in disbelief at the empty air where the demi-hollow should have been. _What the heck? _Ichigo thought, _there's no hollow…did he really get rid of the spirit?_

The crowd cheered as loudly as ever. "Kanonji! Kanonji! Kanonji!"

"Okay! Okay!" Don Kanonji shouted out to the crowd, "I hear you babies! I'm receiving your vibes loud and clear. I'm grateful!"

Ichigo shook his head. _Unbelievable! How did he do it?_

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER NINE: REAL HOLLOWED GROUND!


	9. Real Hollowed Ground

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER NINE: REAL HOLLOWED GROUND

Ichigo Kurosaki was held tightly, surrounded by six security guards. Uryu Ishida was pinned to the ground by three others. The hospital they were front of was a ruined wreck, a decaying building abandoned many years ago. Don Kanonji the medium, was standing in front of the cameras. Farther out into the parking lot was the crowd who came to watch the show. A security barrier was keeping them back. Of course in the case of Ichigo and Uryu, the barrier had not held them back. Ichigo had thrown Uryu's bow over the barrier then jumped it himself. Uryu had jumped it for the bow. That was why they were being attacked by the security guards.

"This all your fault, Kurosaki!" Uryu yelled from his position on the pavement.

"My fault?" Ichigo said, "You didn't have to follow me! I hate Ghost Bust! That moron Don Kanonji-"

"He's not a moron!" Uryu said, "He did get rid of the spirit!"

Out among the gathered crowd, Ichigo's dad Isshin Kurosaki was shaking his head. "No, he didn't," Isshin muttered. His daughters stood beside him, Yuzu at his left side, and Karin at his right.

"What do you mean Dad?" Yuzu asked.

"Demi-hollows," Isshin said, "when turning from plus to hollow seem to disintegrate. Wandering spirits are liable to reappear anywhere. Earthbound spirits turning hollow will show up at the place they were bound to. This isn't over. The trouble could just be starting!" Isshin gestured at the crowd around them. "With all these people around, this isn't good. There's too many people here who can't even see the danger they're in!"

The crowd cheered out, "KANONJI! KANONJI! KANONJI!"

"Bohahaha!" Kanonji shouted. He crossed his arms upwards in an x shape, his fingers folded.

Most of the crowd did the same as Kanonji, striking his trademark pose. "BOHAHAHA!" Isshin, Yuzu, and Karin did not do the pose. Isshin's face was filled with intense worry. Yuzu looked nervous. Karin appeared bored.

The security guards pinning Uryu down, lifted him up to his feet. Both sets of guards started to drag away the teens they held. Ichigo glared at them. "Where are you taking us?"

"Shut up!" one of the security guards yelled. He punched Ichigo in the face.

Ichigo's friends Keigo Asano, Mizuiro Kojima, and Chad Sado were standing together in the crowd. Asano winced with sympathy. "Ouch! That's gotta hurt!" Asano said.

"What does he think he's doing?" Kojima asked, "That other guy Uryu Ishida, he's in our class right? Why's he hanging around Ichigo? What's with the bow?"

Ichigo's head went down from the punch. _I don't believe this, _he thought, _this night really is shaping to be a disaster! _Ichigo suddenly lifted his head up, all alert. _What is that? _Ichigo tilted his back to look at the hospital roof. _He didn't destroy the spirit!_

For those that could see it, there seemed to be a slight glow around Ichigo. What most of the crowd and the viewers at home saw was the security guards surrounding Ichigo suddenly being pushed away as if by an unseen force. They were pushed less than a foot away from him. It was enough that he broke free. He ran toward Don Kanonji with the security guards chasing him.

"Hey you! You stupid idiot!" Ichigo yelled. He pointed at the roof.

"Huh?" Don Kanonji asked. He looked where Ichigo was pointing.

On the roof, hands appeared out of thin air, followed by a body. There was a hole in the center of the chest. The proportions were strange, not quite human. The last part of the body to show up was the head which greatly resembled the spirit that Don Kanonji had just defeated. The head became covered in something white, a mask. It was a mask that very vaguely looked like the head of a frog.

"What!" Don Kanonji jumped back in shock. "A monster! Don Kanonji helps spirits! H does not deal with monsters! I'm out of here!"

"You idiot!" Ichigo yelled, "That is a spirit! This your fault!" The security team caught up with Ichigo. They captured him and started dragging him off.

"Wait," Don Kanonji said, his face puzzled. "Let the boy speak. How is this my fault?"

The security team stopped moving. They still held tight to Ichigo. The announcer stepped over and held out his microphone in front of Ichigo's face. Ichigo glared at Don Kanonji. "You did that!" Ichigo shouted, "That stupid stick broke the chain of fate! You hurt that spirit! You turned that spirit into a hollow!"

"You know," Kisuke Urahara said suddenly standing beside Isshin, "I think the whole country is listening to your son right now!" Urahara smiled cheerfully. "Depending on what he says, that could be trouble!"

"Gah!" Isshin shouted, "Don't sneak up on me like that! What are you doing here? What are you scheming?"

"Oh I'm not," Urahara said, "Why would I? The kids wanted to see this show so bad, that's all. I'm afraid we got here kind of late though." Behind Urahara were the kids. The oldest was Ururu, a little girl with black hair in pigtails and a permanent blush. Then there was Jinta, a redhead with an attitude problem who was actually taller than Ururu. The youngest and smallest was Akira Tanaka, a gentle looking boy with wavy brown hair. Standing behind the three kids was the very tall form of Tessai Tsukabishi.

Back where the cameras where aiming, Don Kanonji was staring at Ichigo in the disbelief. "My exorcisms never fail, boy. I send the spirits on to heaven!" Don Kanonji held up his staff. "With my trusty spirit staff I send many on their way!"

"No, you do not!" Ichigo struggled against the security guards, his fiercest glare upon Don Kanonji's face. Ichigo was mad, very, very angry. He was past the point of the caring what he said. "That chain is the chain of fate! Souls need that until they pass on! That spirit stick only causes more problems! It's the responsibility of the Shinigami to send the spirits on. Anything else doesn't work! You moron! You just made a plus, that would be a normal spirit, into a hollow, a bad spirit. You've probably done this right and left ever since you hit the airwaves! Do you know what hollows do? They eat human souls!"

The majority of the crowd started laughing. Urahara frowned as he said, "Oh dear!" Urahara's eyes held nearly as much worry as Isshin's did.

Ichigo was still ranting but the announcer took the mike away. The announcer laughed with the crowd. "It seems folks," the announcer said, "That we have an over zealous fan! One with an over active imagination to boot!" The announcer gestured at the security team and they began to take Ichigo away.

The hollow watched from its place on the roof. **"It hurts! Oh it hurts!" **the hollow shrieked, **"This hospital is mine! If I can't have it no one else will! I'll tear you all to pieces! I'll devour all of your souls!" **The hollow began to slide down the front wall of the hospital. Its claws hands tore at bricks and glass as it moved. Large pieces of debris fell from the building. Bricks and glass windows went flying toward the crowd.

"No!" Ichigo yelled. The panicking guards let go of him. Ichigo held up his hands as if to stop the oncoming debris. A gigantic transparent force field suddenly hung in mid-air above the crowd. To most of the people it looked as if the glass and bricks were just floating in the air.

"That's interesting!" Urahara said smiling slightly, "It's like kido yet he is not shinigami. His energy does not feel like that of a shinigami. That's not a known kido spell but I recognize certain qualities in it. Hmm, I wonder…"

"Stop that!" Isshin yelled, "That's my son. Not some experiment for your amusement!

"That monster!" Orihime shouted standing further away in the crowd, "Do you see it? It's blurry but it's there!" Standing beside Orihime, Tatsuki nodded grimly.

Over where Asano, Chad and Kojima, Asano looked up in shock. Bricks were floating right above their heads. Asano's mouth opened and closed. "What the-?"

"How is he doing that?" Kojima asked, "It's just hanging there. Nothing is there."

"No, it's like thin glass," Chad said.

"I see it," Asano said, "But if that's glass holding all that junk up, it's not shinny. It's awfully non-reflective glass. It's kinda like a force field in a science fiction movie!"

"Are you getting that?" a camera man yelled, as the cameras pointed at the objects held in mid-air.

Chad grabbed Asano and Kojima then ran out of the range of the debris. Just as he did, the force field failed, sending all it was holding up down. The objects crashed to the pavement. People dodged glass and bricks. The crowd dispersed a bit as many ran away from the hospital in all different directions.

"Folks!" the announcer yelled, "Something amazing just happened. A real visible psychic phenomenon! It seems this boy has some sort of telekinetic powers!"

"What!" Ichigo looked both tired and bewildered. He sunk to one knee. _Did I cause that? _Ichigo thought, _I must have but how? I…I feel worn out…like I've been staying up for days…or doing intense exercise…_

The hollow landed on the pavement. It ran toward the announcer. **"Shut up! Your voice is getting on my last nerve!"** it yelled, **"You can be the first soul I eat!" **The hollow knocked the announcer down. This was caught on live TV. To most it looked like an unseen presence was attacking the announcer. The cameras kept recording even as half of the camera men ran away in a state of panic.

Don Kanonji went after the hollow with his staff. He hit the hollow on the head. "I will defeat you, evil spirit!" All Don Kanonji had managed to do was make the hollow want to eat him.

"**There's something appealing about you!" **the hollow said, **"Something mouth watering!"**

"Kan-non Ball!" Don Kanonji yelled out. He held a hand up toward the hollow. A ball of light flew from Don Kanonji's hand to hit the hollow. As the ball hit, it turned into a small expulsion.

"**What's that? It stings!" **the hollow shouted. It slapped Don Kanonji to the ground.

The announcer stood up looking spooked but determined. "It appears folks, that Mister Don Kanonji is being attacked by an unseen foe! Whatever it is, it almost had me! This is not a joke! The danger is all too real!"

"My strength," Don Kanonji said, "is spent but I won't give up!" The hollow clawed at Don Kanonji tearing rips in his clothes and skin, causing him to scream.

Uryu's bow had been dropped on the ground by one of the frightened security guards. The bow was somewhere near Ichigo's feet. Uryu was laying on the ground without any guards around. Uryu crawled until he reached his bow. He stood up fast with the bow in hand. A glowing arrow appeared.

Ichigo got to his feet just as quickly. "No, you don't!" he shouted. He bumped into Uryu, throwing his aim off. The arrow only grazed the hollow.

"**THAT REALLY HURT!" **the hollow shrieked.

"I missed?" Uryu said. He looked surprised then he looked mad. He turned to glare at Ichigo. "You made me do that!"

"Every hollow you destroy disrupts the balance of human existence!" Ichigo yelled, "Mister Hat and Clogs told me that!"

On the other side of the security barrier Urahara sighed with relief. "He didn't use my real name! Thank goodness for that silly nickname!"

"We have to wait for a shinigami!" Ichigo said.

"Do you really think we can afford to?" Uryu asked.

The hollow started clawing at Don Kanonji again. Ichigo looked on in shock. "No I don't guess we can," Ichigo said. _That trick I did before…can I do it again? _A look of intense concentration spread across Ichigo's face. _How did I do it? I needed to protect the crowd…I need to protect Don Kanonji!_

Uryu held his bow up. It glowed. He pulled backed the string making another arrow appear. The arrow went straight for its target. The arrow bounced off a transparent force field that appeared. The force field covered the hollow. The force field was bubble shaped.

_That wasn't what I meant it to do! _Ichigo thought, _I wanted it to surround Kanonji, not the hollow!_

Urahara raised his left hand. He snapped his fingers. "I knew I recognized it! It's nearly identical. That kido spell…Isn't that one of your favorites Isshin?"

Isshin's eyes went wide. "You, you're right! I used a kido spell that does something like that, a few weeks ago to protect Ichigo from the Grand Fisher!"

Urahara grinned. "A childish phrase comes to mind. 'Monkey see, monkey do! It shouldn't be possible. It's curious."

"**What is this?" **the hollow shouted. It banged at the force field, hitting it with it claws repeatedly. **"Let me out!"**

"Kurosaki-san," Uryu said, "You're generating that field. How are you doing this?"

"I don't know!" Ichigo yelled. Each time the hollow hit the force field, Ichigo winced with pain. _I can't keep this up much longer…_

Without warning the force field disappeared. The hollow came charging with amazing speed at Uryu and Ichigo. **"You with the bow!" **it said, **"You hurt me with that thing. I'm hungry! You're my meal!" **It knocked the bow out of Uryu's right hand, seriously scratching the hand in the process. There was an audible cracking sound. The fingers of Uryu's right hand were bent in strange angles. They were broken. The bow went flying several feet. Uryu gasped in pain. He grabbed at his right hand with his left. A small amount of blood trickled out from the scratches on Uryu's right hand.

"**I hope you taste as fine as prime rib or expensive wines!" **the hollow shouted, **"You do smell good…no not smell! What is this sense? No matter! I'm still going to eat you!" **

"Oh great," Ichigo muttered, "the hollow doesn't know how to be a hollow!" _This hollow doesn't even seem all that tough…without the ability the fight back though, I'm still in trouble! Without his bow, Uryu is too! That's my fault!_

Ichigo put up a force field around Uryu. The hollow turned its attention on Ichigo. **"There's something stronger, something tastier about you!"**

Isshin moved as if to jump the barrier. Urahara put a hand on him to stop him. Isshin kicked Urahara. Urahara nearly lost his balance. Stumbling he turned quickly around. "Tessai!" Urahara said, "Grab him!"

Just as Isshin was jumping the security barrier a hand reached out and grabbed him out of the air. Tessai held him up off the ground.

"Hey!" Isshin shouted, " Put me down! I've got to help Ichigo. I have to help my son!"

"If go with your first choice, if you run out there," Urahara said, "You'll get caught on live camera! If you discard your gigai here, you'll get caught by Soul Society. I have no desire to get caught up in the mess that would follow that second choice. Neither is a good choice, so chose something else. Use your brain not your brawn! You're always saying you're not as dumb as you look. Prove it!"

"Huh?" Isshin looked blankly first at Urahara then Tessai.

"Kido!" Tessai shouted. "The manager is talking about kido! Even in your weakened state you should be able to do basics!"

"Oh," Isshin said as Tessai placed him back on the ground.

"What's kido?" Karin asked staring at Urahara.

Tessai answered her. "Kido is manipulated rekirou. It is spiritual power channeled and controlled to create a variety of effects. It is the spells of the shinigami which are most commonly used on the battlefield."

"Sounds like magic," Karin said.

"It is like something out of a story," Yuzu said, "a fairy tale!" Yuzu clapped her hands together. Her face was all giddy.

Karin shook her head at Yuzu. "It's not just a story. It's real. I think I would like to know kido. Can I learn it?"

Isshin was watching as Ichigo was chased by the hollow. Isshin turned his head to look at Tessai and then Urahara. "No! You not going anywhere near my girls after tonight!" Isshin looked at Karin. "You're staying away from them, Karin. Both of these men could be dangerous to you. I trust them with my life but that doesn't mean I trust them with yours. In order to learn kido you would have to be shinigami, a substitute shinigami at the least. Becoming a substitute shinigami is a risky thing at best. It has only ever been done a few times. One could easily wind up dead." Isshin glared at Urahara. "If I'm not going to allow that risk with Ichigo, there's no way I'll allow it with my daughters!"

"What kind of risk do you think your son is facing right now?" Urahara asked, "It is only luck and the semi-watchful aid of four shinigami, you, myself, Tessai, and the young Rukia Kuchiki that has kept him alive this long."

Isshin looked back the encounter going on closer to the hospital building. Ichigo was running from the hollow. Ichigo was wincing as if in pain. Ichigo was drenched in sweat. The force field over Uryu was still up but it was beginning to fail. The hollow was about to grab Ichigo. Isshin raised up his hands and chanted something. A large beam of red light came from his palms. The light hit the hollow slamming into a hospital wall. It didn't stop at the wall. The hollow was sent straight through the wall. To those who couldn't see spiritual energy it looked like a hole had been blast in the wall by an unknown force. The remainder of the crowd begin to panic. Shouts of "Bomb!" and "Bazooka!" rang out. Many fled. The last of camera men left their posts. Isshin promptly passed out.

A somewhat scorched looking hollow with smoke rolling off it walked out the hole in the wall. It was greatly enraged. **"Who did that!" **it yelled, **"You'll pay!" **The hollow ran toward the security barrier. It knocked down a section of the security barrier. It ran toward where the much of the crowd had been, moving right past, Urahara, Isshin, Tessai, and the kids with them. It turned back around to face Karin. **"You, I sense something wonderful! I'll eat you!"**

Urahara stepped in front of Karin. "I'm sorry but I can't allow that," Urahara said. He pointed with the index finger of his right hand. Instantly the hollow was thrown backwards several feet. Backwards in this case, unfortunately meant closer to the fleeing crowd. The hollow landed less than a foot from Orihime and Tatsuki, who both screamed.

"**Why am I going after the finer meals?" **the hollow asked, **"The steak and caviar types…I'm so hungry I could eat the equivalent of burgers and fries! There's plenty like that!" **The hollow moved slowly toward Orihime and Tatsuki. A small young woman in a black hakama was suddenly in front of the two girls. The young woman was the shinigami Rukia Kuchiki. She had a sword in her hands. She sliced at the hollow once then twice. It shrieked then faded away. Rukia walked away toward the hospital.

"Did you see that, Tatsuki-chan?" Orihime asked. "It was kind of blurry like the monster. It looked like a girl in samurai clothes! She was so brave! She defeated the monster! She saved us!" "Yeah, I saw her," Tatsuki said, "No one is going to believe us. Let's just get out of here!" Orihime nodded. The two of them ran off away from the abandoned hospital.

Rukia walked over to Urahara. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Nothing," Urahara said.

"It's going to be impossible to make everyone forget what happened here!" Rukia said.

Urahara smiled cheerfully. "I'd say it's worse than that. The entire country has seen at least part of what happened."

Rukia's brows went high on her forehead. "How is that possible?"

For an answer Urahara gestured at the abandoned TV cameras. "The marvels of human technology which is so much better than most of the Soul Society. It's like a set of eyes that can show people all over what it sees. Of course, they would have only seen things flying by themselves. Thanks to Ichigo-san, they also found about hollows. Knowing human nature, I'm not too worried. Most will merely think he's crazy." Urahara shook his head. "Things will not be easy for Ichigo Kurosaki, not for a while."

The force field around Uryu disappeared completely. Ichigo collapsed to his knees, looking stunned. Uryu turned to face Ichigo. Uryu glared fircly. "THis is your doing! My fingers are ruined beacue of you, Kurosaki-san!"

Ichigo shook his head. His eyes become more focused. "What's your problem? Just let the shinigami Kuchiki-san heal you!" Ichigo pointed at Rukia. "She doesn't like me much but she's all not bad. She's good at healing."

"Let a shinigami touch me?" Uryu said, "Never! The shinigami are my enemies!"

"Do you want to be crippled?" Ichigo asked. "I thought the Quincy needed their fingers in good shape to wield their bows!" Ten seconds later Uryu was walking toward Rukia.

Rukia looked startled. "You can me too? What is going on in this town?"

The next morning at the Kurosaki home, Ichigo woke up to the sound of his father yelling, "Good morning, son!" In seconds, Isshin was pinned to the floor with Ichigo standing over him.

"Dad, that was pathetic!" Ichigo said, scowling. "When are you going to stop doing this! This time your stupid attack didn't even have any strength to it! You wore yourself out doing that- what was it Urahara called it? Kido?- That stupid kido trick!"

"Kido?" Isshin said, sounding confused, "What is kido?"

"Don't play dumb, Dad!" Ichigo yelled.

A few minutes after that, Ichigo was walking into the dining area of the home. His sister Yuzu was setting plates down on the table. Karin came running in from outside. She looked sweaty and exhausted.

"Karin, what happened to you?" Ichigo asked.

Karin appeared annoyed. "I went for a jog around the block. I decided I was trying to build my strength and endurance some. When I got back I couldn't hardly get in the house. Those dumb reporters were blocking the door!"

"Reporters?" Ichigo looked at Karin in a mixture of irritation and disbelief.

A minute later Ichigo opened the door to the clinic. A flash bulb went off in his face sending him blinking. Sure enough as Karin had said there were reporters out there. There were multiple camera crews. There were men in business suits and women in pant suits. There were people with microphones. There were men with notebooks or tape recorders.

A daring reporter stuck a microphone in front of Ichigo. Ichigo knocked the microphone out of his hand. The reporters started asking questions. "Can you tell us how long you've been a spirit medium?" one asked. Another asked, "How do you do that telekinesis. Was the bomb like effect a product of your telekinesis?" Yet another person asked, "Are you going to get arrested?"

It was a disgusted, annoyed and seriously alarmed, Ichigo that glared out at the crowd. _Oh no! _Ichigo thought, _this could be a problem! _He ducked back in the house. He slammed the door.

"Fame sucks, doesn't it?" Karin said scowling up at Ichigo.

Ichigo leaned against the glass door. _Aw man! What am I going to do now?_

Back outside the clinic, the reporters were watching the house. Unseen by the reporters others were watching the house as well. Standing on a wall a man with long white hair and black eyebrows was wearing a black hakama with a white long-sleeved haori over it. "The one who went back inside the house, the one with the orange hair," the man said, "Is he the one you keep talking about, Rukia?"

"Yes, Captain Ukitake." Rukia nodded. She was standing in front of the white haired man. "That was him. Ichigo Kurosaki."

Standing behind Ukitake, a woman with short dark blond hair was frowning. She was dressed in a black hakama with a white collar showing. White gloves were on her hands. "Without the first captain's permission," she said, "Do we even have the right to be here?"

"You're worrying too much!" Ukitake said, "That boy, he looks a lot like Kaien Shiba, doesn't he? Even if one discarded that fact, that boy still bares watching. There is something odd about him. That strong spiritual energy of his, it probably has something to do with the rise in hollows here…"

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER TEN: THE FAME GAME!


	10. The Fame Game

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER TEN: THE FAME GAME

"…and in other news," a male reporter said on the television, "a boy identified as Ichigo Kurosaki, from Karakura Town was seen on live television last night-"

The channel flipped to an image of a female reporter. "Who is this boy?" A picture of Uryu Ishida being down by security guards was shown on the TV. "More, importantly," the reporter said, "Who is he?" A clip was shown of Ichigo ranting in front of a microphone.

The channel flipped to another male reporter. "…if his words can be believed, this boy could be an amazing spirit medium! Certainly his actions show it-"

The channel was flipped again, this time to a female talk show host. "That's right people!" she said, "We have Don Kanonji himself, right here in our studio this morning!" The camera shifted focus zooming out to show Don Kanonji walking to the table where the host was. As he sat down, she smiled at him, "So tell us, who were those two boys?"

"My new sidekicks!" Don Kanonji said proudly.

"What!" Ichigo yelled. In the dining area, of the Kurosaki home Ichigo sat at the table eating breakfast. In another corner of the room, the television was on. Ichigo had the TV remote in his left hand. He was flipping through the channels even as he held chopsticks with the other hand. He dropped the remote and the chopsticks on the table. He stood up looking livid. "How dare he!"

Ichigo's sister Karin was sitting across from at the table him. She was annoyed. She was scowling at Ichigo. "When you're famous," she told him, "you have no privacy. They say whatever they want. You shouldn't have gotten in front of those cameras last night. You really shouldn't have spoken into that mike."

Yuzu was next to the chair Ichigo just left. She looked up at Ichigo in a worried sort of way. "We got a death threat over the phone this morning."

Karin looked equally worried for a moment then suddenly she smirked. "There were five marriage proposals for you, Ichigo. One of them was a guy, who seemed to you were a girl! There were two TV show contract offers, one of which seemed completely fake. I mean what kind of kind of show title is 'Teenage Stripper Medium' anyways?"

The phone started ringing. Ichigo glared at Karin then Yuzu. "Don't answer that!" he yelled.

Isshin walked into the room. He went to stand beside Ichigo. Isshin smiled goofily as he patted Ichigo on the back. "My son, the celebrity!"

Ichigo turned his glare on his father. "You want to make something of it?"

"Not really," Isshin said, "Just that Daddy won't be stepping out of the house much for a while, not until those reporters and certain others are no longer watching."

Ichigo raised a brow. "Others? What others?"

"You'll find out," Isshin said mysteriously. His expression for a moment was serious. He ruined the effect with another goofy grin.

"Oh man!" Ichigo shouted, "How am I going to get to school?"

A little while later, over at Karakura High School, in a classroom students sat at their desks. They wore the lighter uniforms of late spring and summer. For the girls only major change in the uniform was no jacket. For the boys this meant a short sleeved white shirt and tie. Two of the desks were noticeably empty. One other desk was also empty but no one had sat there all year.

In front of one of the empty desks, Mizuiro Kojima sat nodding. "I saw it as I passed near his house. I didn't actually go up to his house. The reporters were mobbing the place!"

"Yeah," Keigo Asano said, "You're not that stupid! If I hadn't stopped him, Chad would be in the same mess! I wonder how they did those trick wires?"

"It wasn't a trick!" Tatsuki Arisawa shouted.

Orihime Inoue looked about the room. The door to the classroom opened. Orihime's face brightened for a second. Then she saw who was coming in the room. It was Uryu Ishida. Orihime frowned. "I hope Kurosaki-kun is okay."

The teacher stepped into the classroom with a girl in a school uniform walking behind her. "Class," the teacher said, "this is Kiyone Kotetsu. She's a transfer student." The new girl had short blond hair. Her eyes were grey. She smiled energetically. She waved a hand wildly. There were short white gloves on her hands. "Hi! I'm so excited to be here! It's so, so, so great to move to a new place! Meeting new people and trying new things is wonderful!"

Uryu sat down at his desk, his eyes going wide with alarm. _What is she doing here? _Uryu thought.

Thirty minutes later, Ichigo walked into the classroom. More than half the students were starring at him. Many of the girls were eyeing him in a dreamy sort of way. As Ichigo walked to his desk, he looked increasingly nervous. "What's their problem?" he asked Kojima. Ichigo sat down at his desk.

Kojima turned around to face Ichigo. "Everyone is talking about you. They're talking about you more than the new girl!"

"New girl?" Ichigo asked.

Kojima gestured over at a desk. "That's Kotetsu-san. Her family had to just up and move for some reason. It's kind of weird. School is almost over too."

The new girl waved a hand. She smiled widely at Ichigo. "Hi! We haven't met before and already I've heard so much about you! I'm so pleased to meet you! Gee, you know the other girls are right, you are kind of cute." The new girl giggled. "Opps, did I say that out loud? Sorry!"

Ichigo scowled at her. _What an annoying girl, _he thought, _wait a second…did she just say the girls think I'm… cute? Oh great, that explains the girls…it doesn't explain the looks I'm getting from the guys… _Ichigo glanced about the room. Many of the students were looking at him with open adoration. The few exceptions stood out. Ichigo quickly spotted Uryu, who was busy shooting glares at the new girl. _So he was right! Uryu Ishida was telling the truth. He does go to this school… why is he staring at the new girl?_

At lunch time Ichigo sat on the roof, eating his lunch. A crowd girls of sat around him. Others stood behind them. Ichigo glared at them.

"I get it!" one of the girls sitting in front of him said, "You were possessed by an evil spirit that day!" The girl had short brown hair. She was smiling at Ichigo in a shy sort of way.

_Possessed? _Ichigo thought, _Oh no! that's the girl Kon tried to kiss! _An image passed through Ichigo's mind. It was of him in spirit form and Kon in his body being connected by the chain of fate. It was an image of Kon kissing the brown haired girl's hand. _Kon was inhabiting my body…I guess possessed is as good a word as any…though I wouldn't call him evil. Annoying, yes…_

"Coming through ladies!" Asano yelled as he pushed his way through the crowd of girls. He stopped to smile at one of them. "Ichigo is my best friend, remember that!" he said to the girl. She walked away from him in disgust. Asano kept on moving until he accidentally stepped on the legs of one of the girls who was sitting near Ichigo. All the girls turned on Asano. Acting as one, they shoveled practically throwing him out of the crowd. "Hey!" he screamed, "No fair! You girls are supposed to like me, not him!" This got Asano slapped by Chizuru Honsho.

Chizuru Honsho had short red hair and classes. She had a reputation for chasing other girls. Asano looked at her confusedly. "Hey," he said, "I didn't think you liked boys!"

"I don't," Chizuru said, "For a guy as famous and soon to be rich as Ichigo-kun, I might make an exception. Or at least pretend for the money and fame. If only I could get him interested in cross-dressing! Besides, all the girls are hanging around him!"

Ichigo's eyes went wide. He looked spooked. Then he glared fiercely. Chirzuru laughed. "You're too easy to tease. You're funny." she said. An expression of mock sadness came into her face. "You're famous. You're popular. If you're as smart as your grades suggest, you'll soon be rich. You have wonderful hair. Now, if only you were a girl." Chizuru shook her head. "But you're not. Oh well." Some of the other girls started laughing.

A blush crept into Ichigo's face, which only increased the laughter. The girls who weren't laughing started getting angry. They raised fists. The normally shy girl, the one with the short brown hair was the most livid looking. "You be nice!" the brown haired girl yelled, "It's not easy being a spirit medium. He doesn't need your mockery!"

"Oh cool!" Asano said, "A catfight!" Asano frowned. "Oh not cool! Why couldn't they be fighting over me?"

"Get out of here!" Ichigo yelled, "All of you! You too, Keigo-san!" he yelled at Asano. In his mind Ichigo was thinking, _…Can this day get any worse!_

A voice shouted over the school intercom, "Attention, the following students please report to the principal's office, Ichigo Kurosaki, Uryu Ishida, Keigo Asano, Orihime Inoue, Tatsuki Arisawa, Mizuiro Kojima and Yasutora Sado. I repeat, the following students…"

"Aw nuts! Why me?" Asano complained.

Ichigo stood up. He moved through the crowd of females. Asano lingered around the girls. Ichigo grabbed Asano's arm and dragged him away. Asano yelled out, "I didn't do anything! I didn't! You can't make me go to that pit of torment, the principal's office!" Tears poured of Asano's eyes. "It's not fair!"

A few minutes later, on a projection screen an image of Ichigo and Uryu jumping the security barrier was shown. "Take a look at this," the gym coach Kagine said. Kagine was a tall muscular man with a mustache. He was glaring at the students who had been called to the principal's office. The projection screen was hanging above the head of the principal who was sitting at his desk. The principal was an old, white haired man. Standing beside the desk was a woman who was one of the teachers that taught the class Ichigo was in.

"This was seen," Kagine said, "on a live television broadcast, nationwide." Kagine moved an way intended to be intimidating. He came to stand very close to Ichigo. "Well, Kurosaki, what do you have to say for yourself?"

"That it needed to be done?" Ichigo said nervously, "Whoever that guy was, he did the right thing?"

"You moron!" Kagine yelled, "That was you!"

"No," Ichigo said, "He must have been my twin separated at birth or something. Maybe he was a look-alike. They say everyone has one."

"Oh give me a break!" Kagine shouted, "I know it was you, Kurosaki!" Kagine turned his attention to another student, Uryu. Kagine's voice was filled with fury. "You, Ishida, why? You're a model student. Why did you follow along with that moron in pulling this stunt? Do you two know how much shame you brought to this school?"

Tatsuki put a hand on her hip. Orihime was standing beside her. "Kagine-sensei" Tatsuki said, "I don't know you called Orihime-san and me down here. We had nothing to do Kurosaki-san's foolhis actions."

"But you girls were with him!" Kagine said.

Tatsuki shook her head. "No, we weren't. Orihime might have run into him but that was it. We were at the back of the crowd. He was at the front."

"That's a lie!" Asano shouted, "I invited Inoue-san and Arisawa-san!" Asano's shoulders slumped. "It's not fair," he muttered.

"Pay no attention to him, sensei," Tatsuki said, "Asano-san is prone to delusions." Tatsuki took Orihime's hand and walked to the door. "Did I say you could leave?" Kagine asked.

Tatsuki smiled nervously. "Honest, sensei, we had nothing to do with Kurosaki-kun's childish stunt.

Orihime nodded. "I'm glad he was there though. He saved people! A samurai girl saved us from a monster!"

Kagine looked at her in disbelief. "You expect me to believe that? He looked around at all the kids in the room, at Ichigo, Asano, Kojima, Chad, and Uryu. Kagine's eyes narrowed. "None of you give the teachers any credit. I'm watching you!"

"Why don't you just let them go?" the principal asked, "Before you leave, Kurosaki-san, would you give me your autograph?'

Kagine walked over to the principal's desk. He glared at the principal. "Sir, it's an outrage! They all deserve detention!"

While Kagine was busy talking to the principal, all the students in the room, snuck out the window. Kagine turned back around. "You, come back here! You know what this means? You're all suspended!"

. "Relax!" the principal said, "It's not that bad for the school! The school is famous now!"

Kagine put a hand over one of his eyes. "You mean infamous!"

Outside at the front of the school there were TV vans. There were reporters. Ichigo and the others with him found themselves running straight toward them.

"Greetings adoring public!" Asano shouted out. He took a bow. Chad picked up Asano and swung him over his shoulder. Asano protested loudly. "Stop! Stop! They might be after Ichigo but I might as well enjoy fifteen seconds of fame!" To the reporters he yelled, "I'm Ichigo's best friend! Anything you want to know about him, I know!"

"Yeah right!" Tatsuki said. The group ran around the building away from the reporters. They ran to the street where they slowed to a walk. Tatsuki stretched her arms out. "I was thinking it was a shame. If they were going to get mad anyway, I wish I had done something to get on camera. Then I saw those reporters. Kurosaki-san, I'm glad I'm not in your shoes!"

"I'm not!" Asano whined, "It's not fair!" Asano beat at Chad's back like a kid throwing a temper tantrim. Chad dropped Asano like he was on fire. Asano let out a yelp as he fell to the sidewalk. "Ow! What did you do that for?" Asano stood up glaring. He suddenly smiled. "Well we did get away from Kagine. A happy ending for all!"

Uryu glared at Ichigo. Ichigo glared back. "What's your problem?" Ichigo asked.'

"You are," Uryu said, "You got me in this mess." Uryu turned his head to look at Asano. "All is not, all's well that end well. This is not a happy ending." Uryu gave Ichigo one last glare before walking away. Uryu quickly disappeared down the street.

"What's his problem?" a voice said from up in a tree. It was a kid's voice.

"Who are you, kid?" Tatsuki asked.

Up in the tree a redhead boy was laying across a branch. He had a Shonen Jump magazine in his hands. "None of your business!" he said.

"Jinta-kun!" Ichigo yelled in recognition.

"You know him?" Chad asked.

"You bet he does!" Jinta said as he jumped down from the tree. Chad grabbed the boy before he could fall too far.

Orihime looked upset. "Please, don't do that. You could have been hurt." "You don't even know me!" Jinta yelled, "Don't tell me what to do! And you big man! Put me down!" Chad lower Jinta gently to the ground.

Asano trying to suppress a laugh, snorted instead. "Big man," he said with a hint of laughter in his voice, "That's a good one."

"What are you doing here, Jinta-kun?" Ichigo asked.

"Skipping school." Jinta glared at Ichigo.

Ichigo scowled at Jinta. "You shouldn't be doing that, brat!"

Jinta shrugged. "You're not one to talk, Strawberry. Aren't you guys doing the same?"

"Get lost, brat!" Ichigo snapped.

Jinta walked away, then turned back around. "I forgot to tell you something. The boss told me to tell you this!"

Ichigo's eyes went wide. "Not here, brat!"

"THEN WHERE?" Jinta yelled at an incredibly loud volume.

"Ow!" Kojima was standing near Jinta. Kojima rubbed at his ears. "That hurt! Where did you learn to yell so loud."

Jinta smiled smugly at Ichigo. "What was it he told me? Oh right…The boss told me to tell you not to go near his shop for the next few days. In addition to those dumb reporters, you've got at least a third of Division Thirteen of the Gotei watching you!"

"Is that all?" Ichigo asked.

"No, there was something else-" A look of concentration crossed Jinta's face. "Oh yeah, I was supposed to give you something!" Jinta reached into a pocket of his pants. He pulled a badly bent business card. He thrust it into Ichigo's hands. "Go there Saturday at 11:30 a.m. Don't let the dumb reporters follow you! Bye!" Jinta ran off down the street.

All the others standing around Ichigo looked at him curiously. Ichigo stuffed the card into a shirt pocket. He glared at everyone near him. "Like I'm telling you?" he said, "It's personal." _That address…that neighborhood, _Ichigo thought_, it's all industrial_…_the only thing there is rundown warehouses! What is Urahara-san up to?_

Several minutes later after the group had all gone their separate ways, Ichigo was walking down a street alone. Uryu was following him. Ichigo turned around and looked at him in surprise. "How long have you been following me, Ishida-san?"

"Ever since you spilt up from those friends of yours," Uryu said, "There are things we need to discuss."

Ichigo scowled. "Start talking then."

"Out in the open? I think not." Uryu's glasses were falling off his face. He straightened them back into place. "Come with me."

A short while later, Ichigo was standing in a cramped apartment living room. The room was almost empty of possessions. A large cross hung on a wall. One love seat sofa, an arm chair and a TV were the only other things in the room. Uryu sat on the sofa then gestured at the arm chair. Ichigo chose to remain standing.

Ichigo was serious looking as he asked, "You invited me to your home? Why?"

"This is the only private place I could think of," Uryu said.

Ichigo smirked. "I didn't think you liked me. I thought you hated me. You trust me that much?" "No." Uryu gave Ichigo a icy glare. "I don't trust you. But I trust the shinigami even less. You are only the son of an exiled shinigami. You are not actually a shinigami. So no, I don't hate you. You are not my enemy. We are at best reluctant allies. "

_I think he's trying to say we're sort of friends, _Ichigo thought, _what a weirdo!_

_The son of a shinigami, _Uryu thought, _is still too close to a shinigami for comfort. Yet the son is not the same as the father. I must try to be reasonable. I need allies. _"As we are or could be allies," Uryu said, "I felt it wise to share important information with you. The new girl in school is a shinigami."

"No way!" Ichigo shouted. _This guy is nuts!_

"Don't look at me like I'm crazy!" Uryu's spirit energy flared. For those that could such thing, white ribbons suddenly surrounded Uryu.

Ichigo was startled. He jumped back. "What are those things?"

Uryu laughed a bitter laugh. "I'm surprised you don't know." Uryu grabbed at Ichigo. He grabbed at Ichigo. He pulled at the thin air around Ichigo. There were suddenly white ribbons around Ichigo.

"It's Reiraku. It's spiritual threads," Uryu said, "It is a visualization of Reiryoku, spiritual power. You are constantly flaring. That is how I could follow you today. The Reiraku is how I knew you were getting stronger these past few months. If you were a shinigami it would be red. Kiyone Kotetsu's were red. If you concentrating on anything besides the spiritual pressure of hollows, you would know some of this already. From your own conclusions if nothing else."

_You know, _Ichigo thought, _he could be right…constantly flaring…could that be why the hollows sense me all the time… _"So what am I doing?" Ichigo asked, "I'm flaring reiraku?"

Uryu shook his head, appearing mildly annoyed. "No. It's reiatsu, you're flaring.

Ichigo was confused. "Reiraku? Reiryoku? Reiatsu? What's the difference? It's all spiritual stuff, isn't it?"

Ishida sighed. "You are ignorant. It's like saying American football and soccer are the same because of similar names. Or that chess and checkers are indentical because they are played on the same board. They most certainly are not the same. This 'spiritual stuff' as you so bluntly called it, has many forms. Reiryoku is spiritual power. It's the energy inside you. Reiatsu is spiritual pressure. It's energy you're sending outward, energy that you can use. It's possible that someone with high Reiatsu could beat someone with higher Reiyoku."

"So," Ichigo said, "You're saying I'm constantly leaking too much spiritual pressure? Can you help me to not do this?"

"I thought you had shinigami mentors you could receive answers from," Uryu said, "What little I saw of that hat and clogs man and your father led me to believe this. If it is true then it looks like you aren't asking them the right questions."

"Just answer my question!" Ichigo yelled, "Will you help me?"

"As much as it is possible for a Quincy to help the son of a shinigami," Uryu said, "Yes."

Later that afternoon, Ichigo walked up to his house, only to find that there were more reporters there. _Aw man,_ he thought, _don't they have anything better to do. Like report a fire or something…I'm going to have to sneak into my own house!_ _Maybe if I leave and come back they'll be gone by the time I get back… _

Ichigo walked away. A minute later, Ichigo suddenly glanced around. _I think someone is following me. It's not those reporters…it something spiritual…let's try that Reiraku trick, Ishida showed me… _Ichigo closed his eyes. He saw images of ribbons. He opened his eyes. His eyes went wide. Ichigo's eyes narrowed in annoyance. He glared in the direction of red ribbons. "Alright, you shinigami, what are you doing?"

A woman in a black hakama jumped down from a tree. She had short black hair with a piece of fabric on the side of her head. "What do you mean? What am I doing? What are you doing! You're not supposed to notice me!" she yelled, "I've been trailing you for half the day, and you hav't seen me before!"

Ichigo smirked. "You're not exactly invisible. Not to me. You know, you're the second person to jump out a tree at me, today." _What was Jinta saying…something about the thirteenth division of the Gotei watching me…this must be what he was talking about._

The shinigami glared at him, then took off runing. Ichigo shook his head. _What a nuisance! It's worse than those reporters…_

In a park, seven shinigami sat or stood around talking. The leader was Captain Jushiro Ukitake. The only not in a black hakama was Kiyone Kotetsu. She was wearing the school uniform. "Why did I have to be the one to wear a gigai?" she asked, "Why did I have to be the one to go to that kid's school. Why couldn't it be you, ape face?"

The one she was calling ape face was Sentaro Kotsubaki. He had black hair and a goatee. He had a thin white headband around his forehead and white strips tied around his shoulders. His face was going red with anger. "What did you call me? Don't you dare call me that!"

"Fine," Kiyone said.

"That's better," Sentaro said, relaxing.

"Ape face," Kiyone muttered.

Sentaro was instantly angry again. "Hey, you take that back! I'm superior to you!"

"Only slightly," Kiyone said, "Only in rank. We share the same responsibilities, the ones a lieutenant should have. If the captain ever got around to choosing a lieutenant you know it would me!"

"It would not!" Sentaro yelled.

Off to the side, Ukitake was smiling in amusement. Rukia was looking annoyed. Ukitake moved to stand between the two arguing shinigami. "This has gone on long enough," Ukitake said.

"Yes, captain!" Both Sentaro and Kiyone spoke at the same time. They both bowed in a such way that it was as if they were trying to out bow each other. They shot each other slight glares.

"Sorry, I'm so sorry," Kiyone said.

At that moment a woman in a black hakama came running. "He saw me!" she yelled.

In another part of Karakura Town, Ichigo walked slowly down the street. A car, a convertible seemed to be following him. He turned down a street, and the driver did the same. The driver was dressed like a chauffer. Ichigo raised his brows. _Now, what?_

Ichigo stopped moving. The car slowed to halt and parked beside the sidewalk Ichigo was standing on. In the back seat of the car was a tall man with a black cloth draped over him. The man got out of the car. The man threw back the cloth, revealing a garish costume. The outfit was a gold and red mockery of a military dress uniform. On the man's head was a vaguely crown shaped hat with the name, 'Don' written across it.

Ichigo jumped back a bit. "Don Kanonji! What are you doing here?"

"That's right," Kanonji said, "It is I, Mister Don Kanonji! I'm here to offer you a ride."

"No, thanks," Ichigo said, "I don't take rides with strangers!"

"My number one pupil! My best sidekick!" Kanonji shouted, "You wound me! I'm not a stranger!"

"You might as well be," Ichigo muttered. More loudly he said, "I'm not your pupil. I'm not your sidekick. Neither by the way, is Ishida-san! Now get lost!"

Kanonji tilted his head down. He appeared sad. "All these years, I thought I was sending souls on to a peaceful existence. I had no idea what I was doing. I hurt them. I didn't help them." Kanonji sunk to his knees. He reached and took a hold of Ichigo's shirt. Staring up at Ichigo he pleaded, "Please help me to understand the truths that were hidden to me. You are just a boy. But already you know so much more. It is I who should be your pupil. Please teach me!"

"What! No way!" Ichigo broke away from Kanonji. Ichigo took off running as far from the man as possible.

That evening when Ichigo walked into his house, his father was waiting. "One more minute," Isshin said, "And you would have been late. You would have been out past curfew." Tears rolled down Isshin's cheeks. "I'm so ashamed. My son the delinquent!"

Ichigo scowled at his father. "Knock it off, Dad!" Ichigo went over to the dinning area of the home. His brows went up. A man in a business suit was sitting at the table. He had a briefcase out on the table. There were papers out on the table, papers which looked suspiciously like contracts. Ichigo pointed at the man. "Who is that?"

"An agent," Yuzu said, walking into the room. She smiled. "At least, I think that's what he said. He's very nice. He could get you on TV!"

"Ichigo Kurosaki," the man said, "I know you are a young man of unique abilities. I'm here to offer you a chance to star in your own show. We would call it, 'Agent of Shinigami!"

"NO!" Ichigo screamed. He ran out of the room. He ran upstairs to his bedroom. He slammed the door. A muffled sound came from his closest. Ichigo opened the closet to find the plush lion body used by the mod-soul Kon. The plush lion was covered in duct tape. Kon was taped to the inside of the closet door. Duct tape even covered his mouth. Ichigo yanked the tape off of Kon's mouth.

"OW!" Kon yelled.

"What are you doing in here?" Ichigo demanded.

"Scary sister did this. She did it this morning!" Kon said, "If you paid more attention you would have known that!

Ichigo glared at Kon. "She is not your sister!" Ichigo put the piece of duct tape back over Kon's mouth. "I don't need to listen to you, right now!" Ichigo went to work untaping the rest of Kon. There was a lot of tape covering the small plush form. It took a few minutes to undo it all. As soon as Ichigo had Kon free, he opened the bedroom door and threw Kon out. As before, Ichigo slammed the door.

Ichigo collapsed onto his bed. Looking up at the ceiling, he thought, _This has been one of the worst days ever… not as bad as the hollows, but still…I hate popularity! I hate reporters. Above all else, I hate fame!_

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER ELEVEN: A QUINCY'S ANGER!


	11. A Quincy's Anger

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

CHAPTER ELEVEN: A QUINCY'S ANGER

It was early morning, not long after sunrise in Karakura Town. In a alley, the spirit of a heavy set woman with long black hair and glasses, huddled with fear. The shinigami Rukia Kuchiki stood a few feet away. Rukia held a cell phone like device in her hand. "This makes no sense! There should be a hollow here!"

Another girl in a black hakama stood next to Rukia. It was Kiyone Kotetsu. She nodded energetically. "I see what you're talking about, Kuchiki-san. It's the third time I've been with you when the denreishenki said there was a hollow nearby, yet there wasn't one." Kiyone leaned over Rukia's shoulder to look at the device. "That's odd. It's not defective. At least it doesn't seem that way."

Rukia pointed at the huddled spirit. "You! What happened here?"

"A monster!" the spirit said, "It was a beast! Then he showed up and saved me!"

"He?" Rukia asked, "He, who?"

The spirit shrugged. "I don't know. I had my eyes closed most of the time. He sounded so cold hearted. I bet he was handsome though! Aren't most hero that?" The spirit had a dreamy love struck look in her eyes.

"So someone saved her," Kiyone said, "We know that there probably really was a hollow here. It was a guy who stopped it. We know this guy wasn't emotional sounding. We really don't anything else. Okay. That's not much." Kotetsu frowned then smiled. "On the bright side that's a lot more than we knew an hour ago." Kiyone looked at Rukia. "Kuchiki-san, do you want to do the soul burial or should I?"

Rukia pulled out her sword. She nodded, her face serious. "I am the one was assigned here. I'll do it."

"Soul burial?" the spirit asked, sitting up straighter. A look of terror came into her face. "You're going to run that sword through me? No! Please don't! That's not very heroic! No!" The spirit put her hands up in front of her face.

Rukia smiled gently at the spirit. "Don't worry. I'm just sending you to the Soul Society. It is a lovely, peaceful place." Rukia placed the end of the hilt of her sword against the spirit's forehead. Then spirit vanished in a beam of light.

"This town really does have a lot of hollows," Kiyone said. She looked up at the sky. She frowned. "It's getting later. I have to get in that gigai again! I left the gigai on the other side of this town. I got to get going. If I don't hurry I'm going to be late for school!" Kiyone sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to a school in the human world! I would say it's the dumbest assignment ever. But Captain Ukitake was the one suggested it. He's wonderful." Kiyone sighed. She smiled in a wistful sort of way. "Maybe someday he'll want to marry me. If only I could be so lucky!"

Soul Society, an afterlife, the place where most shinigami live, the place where souls reside until moving on to the next reincarnation. The Seireitei is lies at the heart of the Soul Society and is the home of the shinigami and the Soul Society's noble families. It was here in thirteenth division's barracks that Sentaro Kotsubaki sat at a desk. He was first of the division's third seats. Sentaro was doing paper work. _Why do I have to get stuck doing paper, _he thought, _it's like Kiyone to get to do all the fun stuff! Why couldn't I have stayed in the Human World with the captain?_

Sentaro Kotusbaki's expression was one of extreme irritation and grumpiness. A shadow in the shape of a man began to move over his desk. Sentaro nearly jumped when he saw who was standing in front of his desk. Irritation immediately gave way to alarm.

The man had a captain's uniform with a white haori which could barely be seen because of what was covering it. Over the haori was a very flowery ladies pink kimono. The man had long wavy brown hair pulled back in a ponytail. Long bangs went to the left side of his face. There was a light amount of faical hair around his mouth and chin. On top of his a head was a straw hat. He smiled kindly at Sentaro.

Sentaro didn't smile back. The worry and alarm on his face was almost comical. _It's Shunsai Kyoraku, the captain of the eighth division! Uh oh!_

"Nice day we're having isn't it," Shunsui said, "You wouldn't happen to know where I would find Jushiro? Would you? I haven't seen him much in the past few days."

"Um, Captain Ukitake?" Sentaro said nervously. _What do I say? I can't tell him that my captain is off in the human world with a good proportion of the division. I can't say that they're watching a boy who except for age and hair color is almost identical in appearance to the division's last lieutenant. The very much deceased last lieutenant…I can't mention that I was with the captain in the Human World, yesterday. What do I tell him? What can I tell him…The captain is often less than well…his illness…maybe that would make a good excuse… _"Uh, um, the captain is sick right now?"

"That's funny, I was just over at the hospital," Shunsui said, "He wasn't there. Unohana has not been tending to him. I know with his health problems that he is sometimes in bed. Still there is something I would like to say to him if he is up to having company. At the very least I would like to see him. You wouldn't mind if I went over to his quarters?"

"No!" Sentaro shouted, "Don't do that!"

Shunsui's brows went up. "Why shouldn't I? Is there something you're not telling me? For instance, the fact that he's not there? That he's no where to be found in the entire Seireitei?

_Uh oh, _Sentaro thought, _he's best friends with Captain Ukitake. He's often sat beside Ukitake's bed during the worst bouts of his illnesses…there's no reason to deny him access to Captain Ukitake's quarters… I can't think of any other excuse…also, Shunsui Kyoraku is much smarter than he outwardly seems. It looks like the gig is up! _"Uh…It's like this…"

In the Human World, in a sports field beside Karakura High School, Ichigo Kurosaki and Uryu Ishida stood talking. Off in the distance at the end of field closest to the school was a crowd of photographers and reporters.

"Those ignorant fools," Uryu said, "I'm glad I scared them a few minutes ago when I got rid of that hollow that was chasing you."

"Hey, why are they following me around" Ichigo asked, "and not you?"

"I don't know." Uryu fingered a cross that was hanging on a charm bracelet on his right arm. "Perhaps it is because I was not the one talking in front of the cameras. I can't get rid of them for you. The hollows are another matter…I thought I showed you a technique to hide your Reiatsu. Do you want the hollows chasing you? Did you want me to have to rescue you like I just did?"

"About that…" Ichigo said, "Did you have to destroy that hollow? It's not a good thing, you know."

"You have to have get over that, Kurosaki," Uryu said, "Someday you may have to do the same."

Ichigo glared at Uryu. His voice was filled with sarcasm. "Sure thing Ishida-san! Not!"

Uryu gave Ichigo a cold glare of his own. "Since we are allies, I thought I should tell what I'm going to do, today."

"Just what do you mean by that?" Ichigo's eyes narrowed.

"That shinigami, Kiyone Kotetsu." Uryu crossed his arms. "She bothers me greatly. I'm going to prove to her and the others I've noticed, that shinigami are not necessary in Karakura Town. A Quincy is more than adequate to deal with the hollow problem."

"You're kidding me?" Ichigo's brows went up. His brows then went back down in angry v. "You're not. Are you? Don't go doing something stupid!"

Uryu's face was calm to the point of being expressionless. He adjusted his glasses. "Don't worry. I will only do what is necessary."

_Somehow, _Ichigo thought, _I don't like the sound of that!_

A few hours later in the classroom Keigo Asano had his head down on his desk. "It's over and I am so dead!" Asano said.

Standing near Asano's desk, Mizuiro Kojima smiled. He had a stack of papers in his hands. "It's lousy. Your grades are horrible. But I'm not much better."

Ichigo stood off to side looking annoyed. "Quit your worrying. Final exams don't hold any real significance in life."

"Well said!" Asano sat up with tears streaming down his face. "Let's commiserate about the pain of being morons! Let's stay friends for life!"

Kojima grinned. "It would be better to say such things after the final test results come in. Kojima placed a paper down on Asano's desk. "Here is a list with Ichigo's mid-term standings."

"Oh, please!" Asano rolled his eyes. "Only the top fifty in our grade are on this. It's not like Ichigo would be listed here."

The top of the page read, 'Freshman 1st Semester Mid-Term Exam Top Scorers.' The first name on the list was Uryu Ishida.

"That figures," Asano said, "That Ishida strikes me as the brainy type." Asano looked over at Ichigo. " I saw you with him this morning. Why were you hanging out with him? He's not at all cool like us! His grades are too good! He's a nerd!"

Kojima pointed at the paper. "Keep looking." Asano turned his attention back on the paper. In five seconds, he was in a state of shock. He stood up quickly holding the paper with his right hand. With his left index finger he jabbed at a certain spot on the paper. "What! There's no way! Eighteen! Out of all 322 freshmen students you scored as 18th! How did you do it?"

"I don't clubs or after school activities. I study at home," Ichigo said.

"You fiend!" Asano shouted, "You nerd! You're as bad Ishida!"

"Thanks a lot," Ichigo said sarcastically.

Kojima moved to stand beside Ichigo. "You're pretty good at studying."

Ichigo ran his fingers through his hair. "Well, this orange hair gets me in a lot of trouble. And I don't mean that figuratively. People always assume it's dyed. The upper classmen want to pick fights with me. The instructors are always keeping an eye on me."

Ichigo stretched his arms out in front of him. "It's a bad situation. I'm kind of short tempered. So it's hard for me to walk away from a fight. While I've gotten better about that the past few months, I'm still not there yet. If someone is determined to pick a fight with me I usually won't hesitate to fight them back. Add to that the fact that the instructors give me a hard time. When they falsely accuse me, I tend to rebel. That only gives them more reasons to accuse me of having a bad attitude. I'm tired of that so I raised my grades. If my grades are good they don't tend to bother me as much."

"I see," Kojima said, "That seems like an awful lot of problems even for you. In spite of this you seemed to have mellowed out a little. I'd have thought you would be more stressed out. Recently you seem to have gotten kind of nicer. It's not at all what I would have expected."

Ichigo shrugged. "I'm used to it," he said, "Beside some recent personal problems have forced me to realize there are some things I can't control."

Asano smiled in a way that was almost a leer. "Personal problems? What could that be? Maybe it's your newfound fame? Or maybe it's a girl?"

Ichigo glared at Asano. "No! It's none of your business!" _There's a whole side of my life I can't tell them about, _Ichigo thought,_ I can't talk to them about hollows…they wouldn't believe me if I did…_

"So much for being mellow and nice!" Kojima teased.

Ichigo scowled at him, then shrugged. "Oh, forget it! Life's too short to worry about the small stuff." Ichigo walked away toward the door. Most of the classroom was empty expect for a bunch of girls. As Ichigo moved to leave the room, most of the girls did the same.

Asano shook his head. "Some guys have all the luck. But I can fix that!" He walked over to the desk where Kiyone Kotetsu was sitting. Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa were standing near her. Asano gave the new girl his best flirtatious grin. "Kiyone-chan," he said, "You want to hang with me at lunch?"

Kiyone had a large hardcover book on her desk. She stood up. She then picked up the book and hit Asano on the head with it.

"Ouch!" Asano yelled, "What was that for?"

"That was for being too familiar!" Kiyone shouted, "My heart is not for you! I already love another guy!"

"Who?" Asano asked, "Ichigo?"

Kiyone shook her head. "No. He's too much a boy. The one I love is older."

"An older boy?" Orihime said, "Really, Kiyone-chan. Who?"

A dreamy look came into Kiyone's eyes. "He's no one that you would know. He's a man, not a boy. He's kind. He's gentle. He's the sensitive type. He's so handsome!" Kiyone sighed. "He doesn't even seem to notice me as a woman. Sometimes I wonder what he really thinks of me."

"He doesn't sound like a real man to me!" Asano joked, "What is he, blind?"

Tatsuki held up a fist. "That's not something you make fun of! You jerk!"

Asano threw up his hands in front of his face. "Okay, okay! No need to resort to violence! I know when I'm beat!" Asano stepped backwards a few steps then turned around and ran over toward Kojima.

Kojima snickered. "You just ran from a girl!"

Asano glared at him. "She's one of the greatest martial artists in this town! I'm not dumb enough to risk getting beat up by her!"

"That's true," Kojima said.

Ichigo, who was almost out of the room, turned his head to look at Kiyone. _What an idiot Keigo is! If I focus, I can see the red ribbons around her, that Ishida was talking about. She's definitely a shinigami. The odds are high that she could beat Keigo up a lot worse than Tatsuki could. If Keigo knew the truth about Kotetsu, he would probably pass out…Ishida's words this morning…it sounded like he plans to challenge her. What is Ishida up to? Well, I guess I'll find out this afternoon…or not…I really hope not!_

It was four girls who were standing near Ichigo. They started whispering among themselves. "Why is Ichigo-san staring at her? What does Kotetsu-san got that we don't?"

Ichigo walked out into the hall, only to find that there were a dozen more girls waiting for him there. Not of them were in his class. Some of the girls were seniors. Ichigo shot them all an annoyed look. He took off running down the hall. _Fan girls! I hate fan girls!_

Later that afternoon, Kiyone walked out of the high school. Uryu followed her, careful to not be seen. Once they were out of sight of the school Kiyone turned around. "You can stop that now!" she said, "I know you're there!"

"I would have expected nothing less," Uryu said, "from a shinigami."

Kiyone's eyes went wide. "You know what I am? Dark hair, glasses, a cold expression…hmm…You must be the one who Kuchiki healed a few night ago!"

"That was a most unfortunate accident," Uryu said, "One wonders what they teach the shinigami these days. If she had known what I was, she would not have healed me. If an enemy offers desperately needed help, one does not necessarily refuse it. Make no mistake, I am an enemy to your kind."

"You, an enemy, Ishida-san?" Kiyone laughed. "You're just a human kid."

"I am a Quincy!" Uryu shouted, "I am the last Quincy!

"Quincy?" Kiyone's tone was puzzled. "No, sorry. I've never heard of them."

"That is your mistake, shinigami." Uryu said.

In front of Urahara's Shop, the shinigami captain, Jushiro Ukitake stood. Five others from his division were with him. Inside the shop, a small boy with wavy brown was peering out a door which was opened the slightest of cracks. "They're still there!" the boy, Akira Tanaka shouted.

"Shut the door. Lock it up. Quickly Akira-kun!" Kisuke Urahara said from where he was sitting on the platform at the back of the shop. Standing around the shop were the other two kids Jinta and Uryu.

"Oh my, oh my!" Urahara looked worried. "I wonder what they want from me!"

"Boss," Jinta said, "You don't think they know who you are, do you?"

"Oh they know." Urahara's eyes which were halfway hidden by his hat, were grim. "The man out there in the haori, is Captain Jurshiro Ukitake. Only three others in the thirteen divisions have been captains longer than him."

"Do you think they'll leave?" Ururu asked.

"Yes. I hope they do so soon," Urahara said, "Having them standing out there is bad for business! It's like having the chief of police standing out in front of a den of thieves!"

"An interesting analogy, manager," Tessai said as walked into main area of the shop, through the door behind Urahara. "Are you trying to imply something?"

"Oh!" Urahara jumped to a standing position. "You startled me so! And no, I'm not implying anything. It's just I was expecting one of the Visored to show up sometime today. Clearly with them standing out there, that's not going to happen."

Tessai titled his down looking at Urahara. "That's right. I was surprised you were able to get one of them to agree. They're a rather paranoid group. That one in particular, acting independently. I used to think I knew him. A hundred ago I did. His actions recently were most surprising."

Urahara sighed. "That deal is certainly off now. A number of things will to done differently. A number of plans will have to be changed, again!"

"It shows only one thing, Kisuke," Tessai said, "If you want a job done right you do it or have some you trust greatly do it for you. I have known you since childhood. If you could not do it, then you should have asked me."

"Somebody better warn Ichigo," Urahara said, "sometime today. He needs to be warned to not show up at a certain usually empty warehouse tomorrow. If by chance someone should be there, it will not go pleasant for him." Urahara looked at the ceiling, his eyes going extremely wide. "Oh dear, Isshin might actually try to kill me! Even if the thirteenth division were still out there, I don't think he would care!" Urahara's eyes narrowed going very serious. "We don't need that! Such a display would only cause problems."

Akira opened the door again. He looked out. "There's another one!" Akira giggled. "It's a man. I thought he was a girl at first. He's wearing a girly kimono draped over his shoulders."

"What?" Urahara asked, "Are you sure? What color is that kimono. Is it pink with flowers? Does he have a straw hat?"

"Uh uh." Akira nodded.

"I thought," Tessai said, "that I sensed a somewhat greater amount of reiatsu."

Urahara groaned. He covered his eyes with one hand. "Oh no, oh no, oh no! There's only one shinigami that it can be. A captain by the name of…"

Outside the shop Shunsui Kyoraku stood in front of Joshiro Ukitake. The thirteenth captain nodded greeting the eighth. "My old friend," Ukitake said, "I should have known you would figure it out."

"Some of it," Shunsui said, "but not all of it. I managed to find that less than legal gate you're using. How did you get that gate? What are you doing here? Old man Yama is not going to like it if he finds out. Do you realize that?" Shunsui stared at the shop. "That name. Is that Kisuke Urahara's place? Is that where that former captain has gotten off to? Does he have something to do with why you're here?"

Sentaro was standing behind Shunsui looking upset. "I tried to stop him! I did!" Sentaro muttered to himself.

Ukitake looked at Shunsui and started laughing. "You're asking too many questions at once! To answer your last set, yes. That is the current home of the former captain of the twelfth division. I happened to find it because of Rukia Kuchiki. And no, before you can ask again, Urahara has nothing to with my plans. The space in front of his store just happens to be today's meeting place."

Shunsui chuckled. "He doesn't know that does he, Jushiro? If Urahara is still the same as a hundred and ten years ago, I bet he's as nervous as a cat on a hot tin roof!"

Ukitake appeared suddenly disturbed. "It was not my intent to worry him or cause unnecessary alarm. I had hoped to talk to him. That shop of his is now locked up tight."

"Why don't you just barge right in?" Shunsui asked.

Ukitake shook his head disapprovingly. "That would be rude. That would also be a quick way to start a fight. I do not want that if I can help it."

"Can't argue with you there," Shunsui said, "So what are we doing?"

"We?" Ukitake's brows went up.

"Did you think you would be doing anything," Shunsui said, "without me finding out and getting involved?"

Ukitake's only answer was a sheepish grin.

On a sidewalk in area of town which was closer to the high school than Urahara's shop, Uryu and Kiyone stood glaring. "I don't know what you're playing at kid," Kiyone said, "I don't care. Just stop!"

"I'm not playing," Uryu said, "This is deathly serious." He reached into a shirt pocket and pulled something out. He held it up high. It was a small coin shaped item.

"Huh, what's that?" Kiyone's brows went up in confusion.

_Isn't this pathetic, _Uryu thought, _she doesn't know anything. She not at all the trouble that Kurosaki was making her out to be. _Out loud Uryu said,"Hollow bait."

Kiyone smiled. The sound of her laughter filled the air. "That's going to attract hollows? That's just a coin! I've never heard of anything so ridiculous. Oh, my sides are beginning to hurt from laughter. It's just too funny! It's so silly!"

Uryu looked annoyed. _All this shinigami seems to be is an over emotional, overtly chatty girl. To use common slang, she's practically an airhead! I'm beginning she's not that much of a fighter at all. This would not be a good challenge… Kurosaki might have been right…there are other shinigami in the area. If I do something that get this one hurt, and they find out…then I will be in trouble!_

Uryu stared at the hollow bait. _I better put this away._

"I can't believe you!" Kiyone said, "You really me going for a second. Only a second, mind you. You may be sensitive. You may be a spirit medium. There's no way you're a threat. There's no way you're dangerous! You're just a kid!" Kiyone laughed again.

"Really?" Uryu's expression which had been one of ice, turned into something else, something fiery.

Kiyone continued laughing. When she stopped she was still smiling. "Yeah, you're harmless kid! Now, go home! I'm sure your parents are wondering what's keeping you. Leave the hollow fighting to the ones who were actually trained to do so!"

For Uryu that was the last straw. His anger became so great that balled his hands into fists, forgetting the hollow bait in his right hand. The moment his hand closed tight, there was a loud snapping sound. The hollow bait broke. Uryu's eyes went wide. All fury instantly left him.

"What?" Kiyone said.

"The bait," Uryu said, "I decided not to use it. That doesn't matter now. Hollows are coming."

Kiyone's brows went down in a reverse arch. "What are you saying?"

Uryu swung the cross that was on a bracelet up into the palm of his right hand. A bow as tall as him, made of glowing white energy appeared in his hand. "The die is cast. I cannot reverse it. The town is about to be flooded by hollows. As you are obviously just a loudmouthed girl and not a fighter, I will try to protect you until I can get you back to the others."

Kiyone glared at Uryu. "What did you call me?" she yelled.

"A loudmouth, a gossip, an annoying female." Uryu pulled back the string of his bow, an arrow made of the same white energy appearing in his left hand. A vaguely dinosaur like hollow appeared in a rift in the sky. Uryu's arrow hit straight on, destroying it.

Uryu continued speaking. "A damsel in distress. The helpless girl. The princess who needs to rescued. Need I go on? Most girls are not warriors or hunters. Few myths and legends tell the stories of girls who are otherwise. I should not have expected anything different from you."

"Ohhh! That does it! You just said the wrong things, boy!" Kiyone's face went red with her anger. "This is one girl who does not need your protection!" She popped a mod-soul pill in her mouth. In full shinigami garb, Kiyone emerged from the gigai. She moved forward drawing her sword.

Uryu fired an arrow at another hollow. Kiyone kept moving forward toward Uryu. Her sword was raised high. He flinched. Her blade hit a hollow behind him destroying it instantly. In a sticky sweet voice she said, "Maybe it is you who needs protection. Is there such a thing as a gentleman in distress?"

Rukia Kuchiki stood in front of Urahara's Shop with her captain. With her left hand she held the cell phone like device known as a Denreishinki She stepped closer toward the building. She leaned against the wall, near the door. When Akira opened the door again, all he saw was her. He quickly tried to shut the door, but Rukia caught it with her right hand.

"Why do you keep doing that kid?" Rukia asked. Then a beeping sound came from the Denreishinki. Another beep came and then another. Out of startlement Rukia let go of the door. Akira slammed it shut. A locking sound could be heard coming from the inside of the shop.

Rukia stared at the screen of the Denreishinki. There was a GPS style map of Karakura Town on the screen. Multiple dots were on the screen. The dots indicted hollows. More and more dots appeared across the map. _This makes no sense, _Rukia thought, _hollows don't just appear like this. Last night Kotsubaki suggested that the device could be malfunctioning...Was he right? Is this thing broken?_

Both the captains, Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku suddenly stood straighter as if expecting something. Their faces went grim.

Inside the shop, Urahara sat on the platform at back of the shop, looking just as grim. Jinta stared at him in confusion. "What's the matter sir?" Jinta asked. Urahara said nothing.

Ichigo was walking home. As usual he was scowling. A mixture of photographers, fan girls and reporters were following him closely. _Man, they're annoying! _Ichigo thought_, For the past twenty four hours or so, to control my hollow problem by learning reiatsu tricks… that incident this morning doesn't count! I don't care what Ishida says, that wasn't because of my spiritual pressure!_

Ichigo turned his head to look at the crowd following him. _I've gotten my reiastu under better control. I'm not a hollow magnet…but now I got them to deal with! They're just ordinary people. They're not dangerous like hollow. They're not dangerous at all, so I'm trying to keep my cool. I'm trying not to get real mad them…it's not easy…who am I kidding? I'm not putting up with this any longer than I have to!_

Ichigo turned around to face the crowd. He smirked at them. "If I were you I wouldn't hang around me," he said in an ominous tone, "You never what will happen. I'm a magnet for evil spirits. You never know when they'll try to attack me!" _No one said I couldn't have some fun with these guys while trying to get rid of them!_

First one large hollow appeared, then a second, then a third, and a fourth appeared in the air above Ichigo. He looked up in shock. _Aw heck! Maybe I haven't gotten my reiatsu under control!_

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER TWELVE: AN ARCHER'S RAGE!


	12. An Archer's Rage

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. The only original characters in this are extras, two unamed adjuchas, and a few very short lived hollows. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER TWELVE: AN ARCHER'S RAGE

Ichigo looked up at the hollows that had suddenly appeared in the sky above him. _I've seen hollows before, _he thought, _but never like this! Never so many at once! They're freaking huge! _The hollows were emerging out of black spaces, holes in the sky. Ichigo glanced at the small crowd of reporters, photographers and fan girls. There were at least fifteen of them, possibly twenty. The reporters were looking at him curiously. The photographers were busy snapping his picture. The fan girls had dreamy expressions. Ichigo scowled at them. He glanced up at the hollows then back at the crowd. _Those idiots! They don't know the dangers they're in! _Ichigo ran toward the crowd. At that moment the hollows landed on the ground. Ichigo was still a few feet away from the people. He put up a force field around himself and the crowd. The force field was transparent. It was narrow covering the area of sidewalk where the crowd and Ichigo where and nothing else.

One of the photographers moved toward the edge of the sidewalk with camera still in hand, only to bump into the force field with his back. "Hey, what is this?" he asked.

One of the fan girls tried to walk forward past Ichigo. She hit the force field face first. "Ow! Did I just walk into a wall? There's nothing there!"

Others started taping against the field. Soon the entire crowd was panicking. Every one started talking at once. Some started hit the force field.

"Quit that!" Ichigo yelled, "Do you want to die?"

The entire crowd went quiet. They looked at Ichigo like he was crazy. He glared at them. "There are four hollows outside! I'm keeping them out. Every time you hit the invisible wall its like you're hitting me!"

The fan girl standing nearest to Ichigo glared back at him. "You're not as cute as I thought," she said.

"Like I care!" Ichigo said, "I'm trying to you alive! Do you want your souls eaten?"

"Young man," a middle aged man in a business suit said, "that is not very funny."

Ichigo barely even heard the man. His attention was focused on the hollows. The hollows each taller than a man, some twice as tall attacked the force field. A snake like hollow with a very ornate bone white mask tried to wrap its itself around the field. **"What is this?" **it asked, **"Something blocks the way to the food!"**

Another hollow was hunched over like a gorilla. It's bone like mask was oddly reminiscent of an insect, some sort of beetle. It stood directly behind Ichigo. As Ichigo turned around he was staring directly at it. It was double the size of a man. It knocked the snake-like hollow away. The huge gorilla like fists beat against the force field.

_It's a good thing I can't feel those blows, _Ichigo thought. He winced as the people behind him hit at the field. _I wish the same was true for those inside the field! Every blow made by those idiots…it's like being stung repeatedly by bees…it's beyond annoying…_Ichigo turned to gaze at the crowd. "Are you trying to make loose my concentration? I'm not kidding. There are four evil spirits right outside! I'm all that's standing between them and you!"

The hollow with the huge fists was hit by exploding projectiles coming from another hollow. The expulsion knocked down a tree. It did nothing to the force field. The sight of the falling which soon rested on top of the force field sent the crowd panicking again.

A girl screamed out then fainted falling against Ichigo causing him to trip. He fell forward against his own force field. For a moment the field blinked like a light bulb trying to go out. The field held its place. Ichigo was pinned to the field by the weight of the girl leaning against his back. He was leaning forward against the field. He stood straight up knocking the girl to the concrete ground. He turned around again glaring fiercely at the crowd.

"That almost made loose my concentration!" Ichigo yelled, "One more second and that tree would have come down! Worse those hollows would be eating your souls! Everyone just shut up! Stay away from me until I figure out what to do. Oh, and don't touch the force field. Especially don't hit it!"

_What do I do? _Ichigo thought, _the only thing I know how to do this force field and I'm not sure how I'm doing it…I just thought about it…I wanted it desperately and it happened…_ Sweat was rolling down Ichigo's face._ It's getting harder to maintain…hard to focus…I don't know how much longer I can keep this up!_

On another street, in a commercial part of Karakura Town, there was a small café. Keigo Asano and Mizuiro Kojima sat at a table right inside the café. Each boy had a glass of coke in front of him. One had to order something in order to stay in the place. The two boys were sitting there talking. There was a window next to them that overlooked the street. A ghost stood outside that window looking in. The ghost was that of an average looking man no older than his late twenties. What was not so average, was the faces the man was making. It was silly goofy eye-catching faces. It kept causing Asano to look out the window.

_Oh man, _Asano thought, _not him again! I've to calm down. It's a figment of my imagination. I'm hallucinating again! He's not real, not anymore than that old guy in the blue kimono I keep catching glimpses of. It's not real. It's not. _

"Are you okay?" Kojima asked, "You look upset all of a sudden." Kojima smiled slightly. "I thought coming was so you would have to go home until later. If you're going to think about it anyway, it's no good. You're just carrying the stress from with you anyway."

"It's people all right!" Asano yelled, "I keep seeing that aren't there!" Asano suddenly looked embarrassed. "Opps, I'm kidding! I'm not seeing anything strange. I'm not seeing that isn't real! No way! That would be crazy! I'm not crazy!" "Right Asano-san, you're not crazy," Kojima said in tone that suggested otherwise. He raised a brow.

"Don't be so polite!" Asano said, "Call me Keigo. You know I hate extremely good manners. It's bad enough that Ichigo seems to acting so odd lately. Don't you start!"

Kojima nodded. "It's funny, Ichigo has been different the past few months. You don't think all the spirit stuff he said on TV is real, do you?"

Asano snorted with laughter. "No. He would been talking about to us! We're his friends. There is no way he could have hid something like that."

"I don't know," Kojima said, "We not exactly his closest confidents. He doesn't tell us everything."

"There is no such thing as ghosts!" Asano shouted. There were a handful of other people in the café and two waiters, all of whom were looking Asano's way. Asano stared back at them. "You want to make something of it?"

"Calm down," Kojima said, "You're not acting exactly yourself. You're going get us thrown out if you keep this up."

Asano shook his head. "There's no chance of that." he said to Kojima. He then turned his head. "Waiter, bring me two ice cream sundaes!"

Both of Kojima's brows went up. "Wow! You sure are going through your savings. All this so you don't have to go home yet? Aren't you being a little bit silly? Is one of those sundaes for me?"

"Yep, nope, and yep," Asano said.

"Huh?" Kojima appeared confused.

Asano smiled widely. "I deserve a treat. So do you. Any excuse not to go home is a good one." _If I go home, _Asano thought,_ I'm going to get more upset. A few days ago arguments with my big sister were normal. It was a few days ago that I was at that hospital where they filming that live episode of Ghost Bust. Those weird explosions…that force field…it had to be some kind of trick…I keep telling myself that… it's getting harder to believe that…I refuse to believe it's ghosts! Since then if I get upset I keep seeing things…weird things…my family is nothing but drama…if I get mad at my sister, if I get mad at Mizuho I see them…If I calm down and tell myself they're not real, they fade away…Stress equals hallucinations…Peacefulness, so not my nature, equals no crazy nonexistent people…as long I as remember to remind myself they're not real, that is._

Asano took deep breaths. He watched as the ghost outside the window slowly disappeared from his sight. He sighed in sheer relief. _Not a ghost, _he told himself, _there no such thing as ghosts. I don't see ghosts. Ghosts don't exist. It just an figment of my overactive imagination. _The last trace of the spirit vanished from Asano's sight.

"Why are you sighing?" Kojima asked.

"No reason!" Asano's eyes lit up with partially faked joy as the waiter brought the Ice Cream Sundaes.

Outside, one street over from the where Asano and Kojima were, Yasutora Sado 'Chad' was crossing a street with two friends. One of Chad's friends was Harutoki Ide the one who gave him that supposedly curse parrot a few months ago. The parrot which in reality had been possessed by a benevolent but troubled spirit. Ide was a slender teen with buzz cut hair. Ide had no idea the truth about the spirit and Chad was not going to tell him.

The other friend of Chad was a young man with blond hair who name was Gitano Shigeo. Shigeo was wearing an outlandish Hawaiian t-shirt. A guitar case was strapped to his back. "Some the matter, Chad?" Shigeo asked.

"No, nothing," Chad said, looking a little worried. He turned his head to look down the street. _What is that? This feeling…something is there, I'm sure of it…It's hazy…it's blurry._

There was something on top of a store building across the street. It had tentacles. It was hard for Chad to see it.

"Hey man," Shigeo said, "Earth to Chad! What are you staring at?"

Chad turned around to look at Shigeo. "Nothing," he said. When he looked back at the store roof there was nothing there. _It's gone!_

"Come on!" Ide said, "Standing in the middle of the road like this is just asking to hit!" The trio finsed crossing the street.

As Chad's feet touched the sidewalk he heard something behind him. He turned his head. The blurred shape was jumping out onto the road.

"**You see me, don't you?" **a voice said, that was odd but unmistakably feminine. The blurred figure was not humanoid of form. It seemed to have several tentacles. It was huge, much taller than Chad. Round blurry projectiles came from it. They hit Chad and his two friends. The three of them fell to sidewalk bleeding. Other projectiles landed breaking the glass of various store windows.

"What is this?" Shigeo asked as he sat up.

"We've been cut by something, what?" Ide asked. He stood up glancing around. "Whatever it is, it's not hurting bad. It hit those shops too."

Chad rose to his feet quickly. He stared at the blur. "Yeah, you're right. There's need to hurt my friends. I see you." _Just not very well…I can hear it or her, much better than I can see her._

Ide hit Chad. "What-what's happening to me? I can't control this!"

"That's not cool man!" Shigeo shouted. Then he stood up awkwardly. "Hey! I didn't mean to stand yet!" Shigeo' s hands reached wrapping around Chad's throat trying to strangle him. "It's not me, Chad! It's not. Don't hurt me! I can't let go. Somebody stop this! Please!"

"I'm sorry," Ide said, as he kicked Chad in the stomach. Chad stood doing nothing, letting the blows hit him.

"**Ha ha ha." **A eerie melodious laugh rang out through the air. **"You can't you hurt your friends, boy! Can you? They certainly can hurt you! Their souls are nothing to me. Yours is strong. As strong you look, your spirit is even stronger."**

"I know what you are," Chad said, "That soul comment…You're a hollow."

"Who are you talking to?" Shigeo asked.

"A hollow, an evil spirit, a soul eating monster." Chad moved Shigeo's fingers off his throat. His hands over Shigeo's arms, Chad threw him sideways off the side. "I'm sorry Shigeo."

The hollow sounded surprised as it said, **"You know of hollows?"**

Chad gazed up at the hollow. "I know a little bit. I know enough to know is you who is controlling my friends."

"**You are right," **the hollow said, **"This is my specialty. I don't like conflicts. I drive the seeds into people. The seeds embed and control them, so that they do my fighting for me."**

"I too do not like fighting," Chad said, "but I don't have others do my fighting for me!" Another punch came from Ide, then a kick from Shigeo. Chad did not even try to fight back.

"**Are you going to let them hurt you?" **the hollow asked, "**My seeds are inside you. Yet you are not effected. You must be strong indeed. Your friends are hurting you. Will you not retaliate? Will you hit them in turn?"**

Chad's face was calm. His body was becoming batter. He just stood there solid and unmoving. "I won't hurt my friends. It's not them that's hurting me it's you."

"Chad!" Shigeo shouted, "I can't believe I'm say this! I don't want to be hurt by you. You could do some serious damage but there's no choice! You have to fight back. You have to knock us out, man!"

"He's right!" Ide yelled, "Now is not the time to be anti-violence! Whatever is doing this to us, it's trying to harm you. We don't have any control. We can't stop! If we keep this up, we're going to kill you! Hit us! Fight back!"

"**Even if you fought back it would do you no good,"** the hollow said,** "I will still have you killed! It has been a very long time since I last encountered someone with as much strength as you. I'm going to enjoy this! Your soul is mine!"**

_It's me she wants,_ Chad thought, _if I can her attention from my friends…if I can get her away… _Out loud Chad said,"I am sorry my friends. I do not want to this." He hit Shigeo knocking him out with one blow. It took hits to knock Ide out. His friends collapsed unconscious on the sidewalk.

"Ha ha ha!" the hollow laughed, "Do you think they are the only ones my seeds hit?"

People began to step out of broken store windows. Store clerks and customers, little children and old ladies, police officers and doctors, people of all ages and backgrounds walked forward toward Chad. They moved like zombies. There were so many of them.

_I can't fight that many! _Chad thought, _I can't hurt the innocent. My fists are not to be used for that! My abuelo would never have forgiven me for such a thing. I would never forgive myself! I have to get away! _Chad took off running down the sidewalk. The mob of people and the hollow chased after him.

In the café, Kojima and Asano were sitting. Kojima was slowly eating the ice cream sundae in front of him. Asano was already more than halfway finished with his.

"It's a wonder," Kojima said, "That you don't get brain freeze! I though you were trying to stall for time?"

"Can't worry about that! The ice cream is too good to think about anything else but eating it right away!" Asano grinned.

Kojima shook his head slightly. He turned his head to look out the window. "I wonder what Ichigo is doing."

"Dodging reporters," Asano said "Better him than me. I think I would make a great celebrity but I wouldn't want it, not anymore. One hour of watching Ichigo running from reporters was enough. Those guys are way too pushy. The only thing I wish…" Asano made a pouting face. "…is that the girls were chasing me. Oh why couldn't it be me who the ladies love?"

Kojima still looking outside said, "Sure, if they were older."

"You always like the older women, don't you?" Asano asked.

Kojima gave a nod. "Always. Yes, that is tr-" His voice broke off. His eyes went wide. "Say, isn't' that Chad?"

Kojima pointed. Coming down the sidewalk across the street was Chad. He was running. A mob was chasing him.

"It is him!" Asano shouted, "Those people- some of them look like grannies! They look they're trying to kill him!" A mixture of shock, horror, and alarm rose up in him. As the emotions became more intense he began to a see a tall blur behind the mob. It was flying. The figure became more and more clear until it was as sharp and real looking as anything. It was a monster shaped like a jellyfish with many tentacles, some rising out of its head. It seemed to driving the mob forward.

"Oh no," Asano said more softly, "I'm not imagining it. Am I?"

"Imagining what?" Kojima asked.

Asano stood fast. He moved for the door. Kojima followed. A waiter yelled at them, "Come back! You haven't paid your check!"

Asano ran back to the table. He pulled out his wallet. He slammed a wad of cash on the table. "Keep the change!" he shouted. He ran back for the door with Kojima a few steps behind him. They stepped outside the café.

"Where are you going?" Kojima asked, "You don't want to mixed up in that mess Chad's in, do you? There has to be some reason that crowd's mad at him."

"It's not a mess!" Asano shouted, "It's some sort of monster!" As Asano looked at the mob he could see some sort of glowing lines connecting the people to the monster. _It's like they're puppets…that monster…it's…_"It's controlling them!"

"What monster?" Kojima asked.

"That one!" Asano pointed at it. _He doesn't see it! Am I sure I'm not just seeing things? No…the mob chasing Chad is real. Mizuiro sees them. That monster is real too…I'm sure of it._ Asano ran across the street. He ran toward Chad. Neither the mob nor Chad were staying still. Asano reached the sidewalk a little too close to the monster. He moved away from it in fear.

The monster looked at Asano. **"You see me too?" **it said in its weird feminine voice.

"You're a girl?" Asano said, staring at the monster in disbelief. His face showed that he was terrified. Rather than giving into the fear his words became flippant. "You're not any girl I'd want to deal with! You are ugly!"

"**How dare you!" **the hollow yelled. The mob stopped chasing Chad. They started attacking Asano.

"Guys," Asano said, "Whoever you are, I didn't do anything. Really, I didn't!" _Okay,_ he thought, _maybe insulting the monster wasn't a good idea…. There wasn't exactly a lot of options… It was that or scream! _Asano started screaming.

Kojima ran back into the café. "Somebody," he yelled, "call the police!" He ran back outside. He stared, his brows going up in shock. "Is that a police officer in that mob? That's not normal."

Chad swung his fists. He moved through the mob pushing or knocking people aside, until he reached Asano. He grabbed Asano by the arm near his wrist. He dragged him away from the mob. The two of them ran down off the sidewalk, Chad by choice, and Asano because Chad still had a hold of his arm. The mob gave chase.

In another part of town, the Quincy Uryu Ishida wearing his school uniform, stood on a road overlooking a ravine that led to a river. Beside him was the shinigami Kiyone Kotetsu dressed in her black hakama. The young Quincy had his bow in hand. The shinigami had her sword. A moth like hollow came at them. Uryu fired an arrow, destroying it.

"That's eleven," Uryu said. Other hollows surrounded them on the bridge.

A hollow that resembled a cross between a spider and a snake came up near Kiyone. With a single swipe of her blade she killed it. "I got thirteen," she said, "I'm doing better than you!"

"Twelve, thirteen, fourteen," Uryu said as he fired arrows one after another, taking out three hollows.

Hollows right and left faded away as another shinigami came down the road swinging his sword. It was Sentaro Kotsubaki. "Kiyone!" he yelled, "What in the all the worlds, do you think you're doing!"

"Getting rid of the hollows this idiot lured here!" Kiyone shouted.

Sentaro crossed his arm. "It looks to me like you're counting up your kills like some stupid amateur, instead of getting rid of them swiftly. You're not acting like the third seat who could easily become a lieutenant."

Kiyone flashed a smug smile. "So you're finally admitting that the captain would chose me over you."

"I didn't say that!" Sentaro shouted, "Stop putting words in my mouth!"

"I don't have to do that," Kiyone said, "You can talk the language of the stupid without even trying. You don't need my aid to do that."

"What did you say?" Sentaro yelled, "Are you calling stupid?"

Kiyone walked closer to Sentaro. "I wasn't. But now that you mention it, yeah. You're stupid. You're dumb. You're loud mouthed."

Sentaro glared at Kiyone. "If anyone's loud mouthed, it's you!"

Uryu looked confused then annoyed. "Shinigami! I'm your enemy not each other!"

Sentaro took a good look at Uryu for the first time. His brows went up. "Who's the kid?"

"One of the kids in Ichigo Kurosaki's class." Kiyone said, "Also he called himself a Quincy. Apparently they were some kind of human warriors who tried to fight hollows."

"Tried?" Uryu said, "They more than tried. They fought better than the shinigami-"

Kiyone went on speaking as Uryu hadn't said a word. "All I know is that the kid's not half bad with that bow. He's got pretty high reiatsu."

Uryu gave Kiyone a cold glare. "Kid? Where do you come off calling me that? You hardly look any older than me. For your information the Quincy were more than adequate. They did better than the shinigami. They were well on their way to wiping out the hollows in world."

"What?" Sentaro glared at Uryu. "Were they crazy? No one can wipe out all hollows. There will always be more. The most they could have done…" Sentaro's voice trailed off as he went quiet for a second. His eyes went wider and wider. "Oh no! They could wiped out the balance of the world!"

Uryu straightened his glasses. "That was what the shinigami said two hundred years ago when they wiped out my people."

"Huh?" Kiyone looked surprised. "You never told me that."

"What do the older shinigami teach their new recruits?" Uryu asked in an cold callous tone, "Whatever the curriculum is, it is obviously inferior. It is not up to the task that it should be."

"Why you-!" Kiyone yelled, "I'll have you know my academy days were very good. My teachers thought well of me! I graduated with high marks. I'm now an officer! I'm one of the two third seats in the thirteenth division! How dare you insult me!"

"Interesting," Uryu said, "With only a few hot headed words you revealed much. In this my father was actually right. A temper gets you nowhere. I now know that the shinigami are dived into divisions. That they run it like a military to some extent. I know that they train their recruits in a school type environment. Last but not least, I know that their standards are not very high. Not if they accepted you as an officer."

Kiyone marched swiftly toward Uryu with a fist raised high. Her fist hit him square in the eye. Sentaro pulled her back while shooting Uyru annoyed looks of his own. "Calm down, Kiyone! You not behaving well!" Sentaro shouted. To Uryu he said, "You really don't want to get her mad. She can be scary when really angry."

"You're darn right I can!" Kiyone yelled. She tried to push Sentaro away from her. He held on to her arms. The two of them wound up falling to the ground. They wrestled around a bit rolling back and forth in the grass by the road.

Uryu put a hand over his quickly swelling left eye. "What clowns," he muttered, "They're not shinigami. They're bumbling idiots." Uryu shook his head. "They're not even worth my time." He started to walk away. He suddenly stood still. His brows went up. His eyes went wide with alarm. He turned his head slowly. He looked up in the sky.

At the same time the two shinigami third seats stopping moving. They went so still they were practically frozen. They gazed upward in growing horror.

Up high in the sky there was a black rift forming as if something was tearing open the sky. Coming out of the rift was a huge white masked face with an elongated nose. The head alone was taller than a man. The body was black.

"What is that thing?" Uryu asked, "I've not seen a hollow that big before."

Kiyone and Sentaro stood up at the same time, both looking serious. It was Sentaro who spoke. "I've only ever seen two others outside a textbook," he said, "Twice was more than enough. I never hoped to see one again. This is not the ordinary hollow. It is much more dangerous. This is a Menos Grande!"

Across town, Ichigo was trapped inside his own force field with a crowd of very unhappy people. He sat on the sidewalk instead of standing in order to conserve his strength. He was covered in sweat. _Every time I think things can't get worse, _he thought, _they do! I can't keep this force field up much longer!_

Ichigo stared at the hollows outside the field. The gorilla like hollow with the beetle head was fighting the snake like hollow for the right to eat the people inside the force field. Another hollow a flying one built like a manta ray was attacking the force field without any success. The fourth hollow was strange by the standards Ichigo knew. It was nearly as small as a human. It was built like an oversized parody of a body builder. It's bone white mask looked like a misshapen stretched out human skull, taller than it was wide. It's body was green. It's hole, which was something all hollows had, was in an unusual place, the left side of its chest. This hollow just stood there off to the side watching as if it were waiting for something.

_W__hat is up with that hollow? _Ichigo thought, _it's weird. The other three avoid it like it scares them… _The force field began to flicker. The tree began to fall._ No! I can't maintain it any longer! _The force field fell. Ichigo put up another force field. All this one did was hold tree until the people could get away from it. The people ran in different directions, the crowd splitting into smaller groups. One of the hollows, the snake like one slinked after one of the groups. The smallest of the hollows, the human shaped one walked away slowly as if he was bored.

The force field disappeared. The tree fell to the ground. Ichigo had been sitting down. He fell backwards. He was very quickly laying down in an awkward position on the concrete. He was soaked with sweat. _I feel so tired…can't move._

The gorilla shaped hollow was at least two stories high. It picked up Ichigo like he was nothing. Its hands were huge wrapped around Ichigo's waist. Ichigo beat weakly against the hollows with his fists. The hollow him up high near its head. Ichigo stared up at its beetle like mask. The mouth of the hollow was opening wider and wider. A growing horror spread across Ichigo's face. _No! Not…not this! It can't end this way…I got to do something! I'm not going to get eaten by that thing!_

Ichigo raised his hands up. A beam of red light came from of one his palms. The light was enormous as hit the hollow straight in its open mouth. The light exploded through the hollow's head taking it out. The light kept going until blew the window of a nearby house. The hollow faded away. Ichigo fell to the ground. _I have no idea how I did that! _Ichigo thought. He laid on the sidewalk worn out, battered looking and covered in sweat. _Whatever that was, it really wore me out…worse than the force fields. I really can't move now!_

A pair of sandaled feet moved past Ichigo's head. The sandals were worn by a young woman in a black hakama. Her hair was black and long, pinned up. She wore glasses. She had a short in her right hand. She went after the snake like hollow.

Ichigo's face went annoyed. His last thoughts before passing out were, _Yet another shinigami_…_I'm getting rescued again! Just once I'd like to be able to handle things on my own! One of these days…_ Ichigo's eyes rolled into the back of his head.

Over at Karakura High School, Tatsuki Arisawa stood outside the school. She was wearing the school uniform. She leaned against the building next to a door. She stared at her left wrist. It was in a sling. _Stupid sprain…stupid Chizuru, _Tatsuki thought, _If she hadn't been trying something funny around Orihime I wouldn't have had to shove her. One slip, one wrong move and my whole wrist started hurting. Now I'm going have to go see a doctor. Thanks to this I'm missing out on karate practice._

Tatsuki looked up at the sky. _It might be just well that I'm not at practice. The championships went well but I've a little bit off my game lately…it's hard to concentrate with those stupid ghosts around._

Up high in the sky, there were two ghosts sitting in mid-air. One was a man. The other was a woman. First they were flirting. Then they were kissing.

_Seriously, _Tatsuki thought, _they're dead! _Tatsuki glared up at the ghosts. _It started that night at Orihime's old apartment a few months ago. I remember having trouble breathing. I sort of remember a hole in the wall just appearing for no reason. The sumo wrestler with the bazooka is not only ridiculous, that memory feels fake…what really happened? I don't know. Ever since that night I've started seeing things…first it was blurs but those blurs became more and more distinct. A few nights ago during that TV incident it all became clear. That night I became able to see the ghost so well that sometimes I can't tell what's a ghost and what's not._

The door next to Tatsuki opened. Orihime stepped outside. "Tatsuki-chan," Orihime said, "You waited for me? You shouldn't have. You should have gone to a doctor the moment school let out. You should have gone sooner that!"

"It's just a sprain," Tatsuki said, "I've had worse." _Even if it was worse it wouldn't matter._ _That stupid Chizuru is still somewhere around the school. I'm not letting her try anything again if I can help it! Orihime is too kind and at times too much of a ditz. She's not good at standing up for herself. If left alone in a bad situation…I don't even want to think about it._

Chizuru Honsho walked out the door. "Sweet Orihime-chan," she said.

"Get lost," Tatsuki said. She raised her right hand in a fist.

Chizuru's eyes widened. "There's no need for violence. I was only being nice."

"Come on, Orihime!" Tatsuki reached out and grabbed Orihime's hand. They walked across the schoolyard with Chizuru following.

_Doesn't Chizuru have anything better to do? _Tatsuki thought, _if it came to it I wouldn't hesitate to hit her! She's no fighter but I really don't care._

"Where we are going?" Orihime asked smiling. "Are you going to see a doctor?"

"Yeah, sure," Tatsuki said, "The Kurosaki clinic is right near my house. We'll head there if that's okay with you? Then maybe my house I got a new DVD, a romantic comedy you might like. It's more your thing than mine." _Anything to get Orihime away from the ever annoying Chizuru!_

"A romantic movie?" Chizuru said, "Can I come to your house too?"

"No!" Tatsuki yelled. She let go of Orihime's hand. She turned around with fist raised as if to hit Chizuru.

It was at that moment that the monster appeared. It made a enormous crashing sound as it landed. Tatsuki halfway around to look at it. It was huge, taller than a man. It was vaguely human shaped. It was muscular. It was certainly not human. Its face was white. Its face was sort of like that of a guardian lion, one of those old Chinese statues. The monster was squatting down in a crouch. With one swing of its huge fists, it knocked Orihime, Tatsuki and Chizuru down to the ground.

"What happened?" Chizuru asked, "Some unseen force-"

"Not unseen! It's right there!" Tatsuki yelled. _Stupid Chizuru can't see what's right in front of her. _Tatsuki glanced around. There were other people nearby looking at down at them funny, but none were looking up. Nobody was pointing at it or freaking out. _No, it's not because Chizuru is dumb. She can't see it because it's like those ghosts. It's sort of like that other monster at the abandoned hospital. _As Tatsuki stood the monster did the same. It moved very slowly. The monster's full height was more than twice that of a man. Tatsuki stared up at it. There was a hole in its chest. Tatsuki's brows went up. _That hole…I've seen something like that before. It is like that other monster!_

Orihime was still on the ground. She was shaking with fear. She was gazing up at the monster. It looked down tilting its head in her direction. It raised a fist high to bring it down on Orihime.

_She sees it too! It's after her! No time to think. Got to act! I've got to protect her!_ Tatsuki ran as fast as she could. She got between Orihime and the monster. Its fist came quickly down toward her knocking her hard to the ground. There was a horrible cracking sound. The monster lifted its fist slowly.

"Tatsuki-chan!" Orihime yelled.

Tatsuki was lying on the ground less than a foot from Orihime. Orihime got on her knees. Moving forward she crawled to Tatsuki. She sat beside her friend.

Tatsuki coughed up blood. "I think my ribs might be broken," she said. She smiled at Orihime. "At least you're okay." Tatsuki stared up at the monster. Its fist was coming slowly down again. "Orihime, get out of here! Run!"

Orihime shook her head. A look of determination was on her face. A memory ran through her mind with lighting speed. It was an image herself a few years back. A group of girls were yelling at Orihime. They cut off sections of her long hair. _I had cut off the rest of my hair to even it out, Orihime thought, I hated doing that. My brother had always told me I had beautiful hair. I was proud of it. After that horrible day, I withdrew from everything. Then I met Tatsuki-chan. She stood for up me. She encouraged me to stand up for myself. Thanks to her I could grow my hair I will never have short hair again. My long hair is proof of my faith in her. Tatsuki-chan protected me. Now, its my turn. _Aloud Orihime said, "This time., I'm going to protect you."

"You'll get killed! This is no time for delusions or daydreaming! Get away!" Tatsuki yelled.

Orihime grabbed a hold of Tatsuki. She rolled with her away from the monster, barely dodging its fist.

"Agghh!" Tatsuki screamed. She passed out from the pain.

There were tears in Orihime's eyes as she looked at her friend. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Orihime sat up. She gazed up at the monster. Orihime's expression became that of anger, of rage. Her hairpins began to move. The flower petals separated into two sets each. They floated away from her toward the threat. The monster which was coming nearer was suddenly pushed back as if by an unseen force. Orihime stood up. She glared at the monster. "You are responsible for what happened to Tatsuki-chan. I will not let you get away this. I will not forgive anyone or anything that harms Tatsuki-chan."

The flower petals flew back toward Orihime. They took a new form. There were six of them. They looked like tiny people.

"Fairies?" Orihime said, questioningly.

One of the tiny people flew near Orihime's head. He had blond hair pulled up in a topknot. He smiled. "That's a good guess. It's not exactly the truth. We're spirits. We are your spiritual powers. We-"

The blond was interpreted as another small being kicked him. He had dark black hair. The lower section of his face was covered by a white bandana. "Get on with it!" he yelled, "There's a battle going on! It's not the time for easy going introductions!" The dark haired one looked up at Orihime. "You woman! All need to know right now is how to handle us. We'll fight this battle for you!"

"My name is Shun'o," the blond said, "The irritable one is Tsubaki!" The dark haired being glared at Shun'o.

Another spirit flew in front of Orihime. He was bald. He had an eye patch covering his left eye. The eye patche stretched up across the right side his forehead, ending in a horn like shape above his head. "Call my name, Hinagiku," he said.

"And mine! I'm Baigon!" yet another one said. He too was bald. A mask covered the lower part of his face. He was built like an overly muscular action figure.

A female spirit spoke up, "Last but not least, call out my name! I'm Lily!" She had bright pink hair and yellow goggles. She wore a blue bathing suit. There was something decidedly futuristic about her.

"Orhime, repeat after me," Shun'o said, "Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!"

Orihime repeated the names. "Hinagiku, Baigon, Lily!"

"Santen Kesshun, I repel thee," Shun'o said.

Orihime shouted out the words, "Seten Kesshun, I repel thee!" The three whose names were called flew to put a force field shaped like a triangle. It stopped the fist of the monster.

"Their ability," Shun'o explained, "is the ability to repel the outer shield. A shield is put up between you and your enemy. And they repel the attack you receive."

Shon'o flew until he hovering next to a small female spirit with an over sized kimono draped over her head. "This," Shon'o said, "is Ayame. Together we have the ability to repel the inner shield. The shield which is placed inside. That means that we can repel the damage in a limited area. We can restore a subject to the state it was in before it was damaged." Shon'o and Ayame flew to hover above Tatsuki.

"Now!" Shon'o shouted, "Call out our names! Then the incantation!"

"Shoutnen Kisshun!" Orhime yelled, "I repel thee!"

An engery surrounded Tatsuki. Orihime moved to kneel at her friends side. Tsubaki stopped her by flying in front of her, shouting "No! Now is not the time for that! We have a battle to finish!" Tsubaki hit Orihime right above her left brow. "Now is my turn! My ability splits the enemy in two. Speak my name!"

Orihime stood straighter. She faced the monster. "Tsubaki, Koten Zanshun!" she yelled. Tsubaki flew through the force shield toward the monster. The monster was cut in half. It quickly faded away.

"I did it?" Orihime looked surprised. She smiled slightly. "Yay! I-" Before she could speak another word, she fell. She lay unconscious on the ground.

"Orihime-san!" Shon'o shouted.

At the same time Tsubaki said, "Woman?"

Shon'o sighed. "Oh well."

Tsubaki crossed his arms scowling. "It figures. Using all of us at once was too much for her."

"You did well Orihime," Shon'o said. The spirits turned back into metal flower petals. The petals flew until they landed near Orihime's head. They landed on the ground.

Tatsuki opened her eyes. She saw the petals reattach themselves and turn back into hairpins. She sat up and rubbed her eyes with her hands. "What? Am I seeing things?" The sling over Tatsuki's left arm pulled up funny as she rubbed her eyes. As she noticed this, her eyes went wide. "Hey! I'm alright! My ribs are okay. Even my sprained wrist…it's not sprained anymore!"

Sitting on the ground a few feet away was Chizuru who was looking disturbed. "What was that blur?" she asked, "What were those sounds? What happened?" Her voice was almost hysterical as she said, "Those hairpins, they spilt apart. They flew!"

In a park Karin Kurosaki played soccer with four boys her age. Her attention wasn't entirely on the game. _I know I felt something a while ago, _she thought, _I just don't know what…it kind of reminds of that demi-hollow._

"Come on! What's gotten into you?" one of the boys said, a boy named Ryohei Toba. He had hair which was black and blond on top. He glared at Karin. "You've been distracted ever since we got here! You're no fun!"

"So what!" Karin snapped, "There's more important things than fun! Like-" She stopped speaking. _There's a hollow here… I know it…it feels so strong! I feel sort of sick. _Karin looked up at the sky. She was deeply shocked at what she saw.

A huge rift opened up in the sky. Four white face each taller than a man peered downward. They had long elongated noses. The rift widened and four tremendous figures as tall as seven story buildings, stepped out. Then four more came. The ground shook with their steps.

"Earthquake!" Ryohei yelled.

"No!" Karin shouted, "Monsters!"

Ryohei laughed. So did the other three boys. They couldn't see the monsters. But they could see foot prints. When they saw those the laughter stopped to be replaced with screams. The hollows left big foot prints, huge indentures in the ground where they walked.

"Run!" Karin shouted. She didn't have to say it. The boys were already running. She moved right behind them.

The last hollow to step out of the rift was much smaller. It was nearly human sized. Its mask was horned looking vaguely like the skull of an antelope. Its body was purple. Its figure was for its size quite slender. Its hollow hole was in the center of its stomach. It laughed. Its voice was sort of feminine. **"This," **it said, **"will be fun!"**

The Gotei Captains, Shunsui and Ukitake were moving swiftly over the roof tops of building cutting down hollows right and left. Unlike most shinigami they each had two blades. Ukitake's swords were unique in shapes. Shunsui had a tachi and a wakizashi, a longer sword and a shorter one. Usually though, Shunsui did not use the shorter sword and in that regard this day was so far no different than usual. In almost every other way this day was very bizarre. The hollows kept appearing. The two shinigami captains swung their blades with great skill destroying dozens upon dozens of hollows that came after them.

"Why are there so many?" Ukitake asked. His brows suddenly went up with alarm. "Do you sense that?"

Shunsui's face was grim. He nodded. "Yes," he said, "That's got to be at least a Menos Grande. More than one. I'd bet my hat that this is so."

"I don't think we're dealing with Gillians alone," Ukitake said, "I think there may be an Adjuchas."

Shunsui's eyes narrowed with worry. "It's like I said, 'more than one.' That's not the only problem. Have you noticed something? All these hollows in one place, more then we've seen like this in the human world in centuries, and not a single person has come here officially to investigate. Where are they? Where are the others from Soul Society? The people who should be sent to investigate! It's only because of luck and a bit of ruling breaking that we're here!"

On another roof along a different street, Rukia Kuchiki stared at a cell phone like device in disbelief. Its GPS like screen was covered in red dots. More and more dots appeared. Then the device exploded, sending Rukia off balance. She came very close to falling off the roof. She caught herself just as she was about to go over the edge. She stood back up on the roof. She stared at the ruins of the device which were scattered across the rooftop. _That has never happened before! _Rukia thought with shock moving across her face.

In yet another part of town, a Quincy and two Shinigami officers were running from a Menos Grande. "I thought," Uryu said, "that you were good at hollow fighting."

"Are you stupid or something kid?" Kiyone yelled, "That's a Menos Grande! That would be hard work for the average lieutenant. Only a captain would have an easy time with it!"

"Yeah!" Sentaro yelled, "We're just third seats!"

Inside Urahara's Shop, Urahara himself was pacing in by the shop's door. "Oh dear, oh dear," he said.

The red haired kid Jinta was standing nearby. "The shinigami captains are gone right? Isn't that a good thing?"

The younger boy Akira nodded his head energetically. "I checked twice. There's no Shinigami outside! Now, we can open the store again!"

Urahara shook his head. "We won't be doing any business today. A town being flooded by hollows is even worse for business than two captains standing in front of the store."

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE PRICE OF FURY!


	13. The Price Of Fury

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. The only characters I made up for this story are a few minor but necessary ocs created to fill in gaps. Most of the ocs are nameless hollows. Tite Kubo created this fictional universe. This is just a fun writting exersise.

* * *

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: THE PRICE OF FURY

At the Kurosaki Clinic, Isshin Kurosaki stood inside facing the glass door. He leaned forward for a moment with his hand on the door, his face nearly pressing against the glass. His expression was one of intense worry. He had a white lab coat on over his otherwise casual shirt and trousers.

Yuzu walked carefully behind. Walking along the floor beside her was the plush lion form inhabited by the mod-soul Kon. Yuzu was wearing a nurse's uniform complete with hat. She tapped her father on the shoulder. At her touch Isshin jumped. Yuzu giggled.

Isshin did not smile. His face was still grim. He turned to face his daughter. "Yuzu, I don't want you going outside at all this afternoon or tonight."

"Dad," Yuzu said, "You've already said this before. It feels like you said it fifteen million times already! No one has come to the clinic at all since I got home. There's no patients here."

"There should be," Isshin muttered.

Yuzu turned around. "I feel kind of silly in this outfit. I'm going upstairs." Yuzu walked away.

Kon stayed were he was. He looked up at Isshin. "There's a lot hollows out there. Isn't there?"

"Yes," Isshin said, "There is. My shinigami powers have returned some but are still not up to captain level. This was true when I faced the Grand Fisher a few months ago. I don't know what happened a little over an hour ago but something did. There are so many hollows in this town right now. It's terrifying. Some are strong enough to give challenge to a captain. I can only hope that Ichigo and Karin are alright."

Isshin moved to face the door again. He made a fist with his right hand. He swung his arm outward. His fist stopped less than an inch from the glass. Isshin scowled. "I hate this! I hate feeling so helpless!"

"I hear you, man!" Kon said, "Try being trapped in pill form. Now that's bad! I suppose worrying about your kids might be just as bad. I wouldn't know."

"Kon, please be quiet," Isshin said, "Better yet, go upstairs to Yuzu."

"Are you kidding me?" Kon asked, "I try to avoid her room at all cost! The last time I was there, she tried to put me in doll clothes!"

Isshin picked up Kon. He threw the plush lion almost like it was an American football or a Frisbee. Kon went sailing through the air screaming at the top of his lungs. Isshin's focus went back to the door.

At the Karakura Hospital, Ryuken Ishida was standing in the parking lot with a glowing bow in his right hand. He was wearing a torn up grey business suit. Blood was dripping from above his left brow. Some of the cars in the parking lot looked smashed in. One light pole was bent. A flying pterodactyl shaped hollow flew from the nearby street into the parking lot.

"**Fresh food!" **the hollow shouted.

"I don't think so," Ryuken said calmly, "I don't know what is with you hollows. You're the fourth to try to attack the hospital in the past hour. I cannot allow this." Ryuken pulled back the bow releasing an arrow at the hollow. It screamed then faded away. Another hollow insect like in shape, stood on the street. It came charging toward the parking lot. Then without warring the hollow stopped. It turned to stare down the street. It bowed its head. Ryuken shot it without hesitation.

Less than one street away from the hospital, Uryu Ishida was running alongside two shinigami, Sentaro Tsubaki and Kiyone Kotetsu. Unlike the shinigami who held their swords, the Quincy carried no weapon. _I know this street, _Uryu thought. Aloud he yelled, "We have to turn around! We're leading the hollow toward the hospital!"

"Do you see any way to do that?" Sentaro asked.

"No," Uryu said, almost panting as he spoke. _That thing has been following us for several blocks. Its attacks are ridiculous. Its like its playing…we might as well have been playing for all the good we're doing. Our attack efforts have been useless. If we keep this up, I'm going to drop from sheer exhaustion. I don't have the strength for another arrow. I lack even the strength to form my bow._

The Quincy and Shingami passed by a half a dozen hollows with heads bent down. The Menos Grande ate some of those hollows as it passed by trio ran down the street of the hospital. They came within the sight of the building. Uryu stared in shock as he looked at the edge of the parking lot. "Ryuken!" Uryu said.

Ryuken stood at the edge of the parking lot with his bow in hand. He fired multiple arrows simultaneously at the Menos Grande's mask. The mask crumbled away. The hollow disappeared.

Sentaro appeared shocked. "Do you know this guy?" he asked.

"My father," Uryu said. _Ichigo was right. He was not lying. My father is a Quincy…a much stronger one than myself._

Halfway across town Ichigo was laying on a sidewalk groaning. He opened his eyes. A young woman in a black hakama was staring down at him. She was sitting on her knees next to him. Her black hair was pinned up with long bangs flat against the right side of her head. She had on glasses that were slightly oval shaped. She was glaring.

Ichigo's brows went up. He sat up fast. The woman continued glaring. "I wouldn't do that if I were you," she said, "Healing is not my greatest strength."

Ichigo scowled at her. "I'm fine." he said. He started to stand up. She back away and did the same. She was shorter than him. They stood glaring at for a few seconds.

"Who are you?" the woman asked.

Ichigo looked and felt confused. He quickly hid this by smirking. "I would have thought you knew shinigami. Haven't you heard the name Ichigo Kurosaki? Your people have been fascinated with me almost as much as those stupid reporters, these past few days! "

The woman's glare become a thing of ice. "I don't know what you are talking about. I am only here to find my captain."

"Captain?" Ichigo asked. The smug expression on his face shifted back to confusion.

"I am Nanao Ise," the woman said, "the lieutenant of the eighth division."

Ichigo continued to look at her blankly. _I really wish, _Ichigo thought, _that Dad would have told me more about the shinigami! This lady took out two hollows. She healed me…and she's still going strong…. How high or low in rank is a lieutenant? I have no idea what to expect!_

"Don't play dumb," Nanao said, "Don't act like you don't know anything. That silent kido spell was the height of stupidity. You should consider yourself extremely fortunate. All you did was exhaust yourself. Without the spoken incantation there is a good chance you could have caused an explosion!"

Nanao tucked her short sword into her left sleeve. She began to walk away. "I only came to the living world to find Captain Kyoraku. My arrival near here was a coincidence. That illegal gate he used sent me through the Dangai and dropped off at a random location. It sent me right to a spot where six hollows were emerging. There seem to be a lot of them doing that in this place."

Thoughts passed quickly through Ichigo's mind. _There's more of them…that's not good… I could barely fight one off. I'm not sure I could deal with another one. I don't need to be on my own. There's no guarantee I'll get rescued again! _"Wait!" Ichigo shouted, "Let me come with you!"

Nanao stopped moving. She stood still. "Don't you see? I don't care who you are. I have no interest in you unless you can help me find my captain."

"I know where he is!" Ichigo blurted out. _I don't have the slightest clue! I don't even know what he looks like! If she gets too mad I can't fight her…I better figure something out fast…a captain is higher than a lieutenant…Does that mean they're stronger? I know the location of two of them, my dad and Urahara-san. One of them should be able to handle her…My dad is hiding. Urahara acts like he is but Rukia Kuchiki is over at his shop sometimes…if he was really in deep trouble with Soul Society she would have reported him…Kuchiki is way too rules obsessed._

"Well?" Nanao said, "Where is he? I'm waiting. I don't have all day."

Ichigo nodded. "I'll take you to Urahara's Shop."

Over at a park, Karin Kurosaki was running for her life. Her friends, four boys her age, were running several feet ahead of her. Behind her were the giant hollows. They were huge, black bodied, white masked monsters. The hollows were as tall as small skyscrapers. There were eight of them. With every step they took the ground shook. Karin turned her head back to look at them. She tripped. She fell backwards landing on the grass. She called out to her friends but they didn't seem to hear her.

"Noooo!" Karin screamed. She rolled onto her stomach. She looked up. The hollows were coming closer and closer. _My ankle…I think I turned it wrong. I can't get up fast enough! Is this how I die? Crushed by the feet of hollows? No!_

The hollows kept moving. Their pace was slow but steady in a straight line. They were moving loosely in two sets of four. If one was counting from left to right, it was hollow number four that Karin was lying right at the edge of the projected path of. _They don't seem interested in me…if I could just move a little bit more…just a little to the right. _The hollows moved closer. The one nearest to her, raised its foot as she wasn't even there. It brought its foot down. Karin rolled just managing to turn over on her back. Her head and chest were out of its way but her right arm was not. Its foot came down. There was a horrible crunching sound as it crushed her arm. Karin shrieked. She did not pass out. Her mind though was no coherent. All she could focus on was the pain. She kept on shrieking until her throat was hoarse. She continued screaming until no sound came out. Even then she was still screaming silently.

Back on the street where Ichigo was. Nanao was moving swiftly. He had to run to keep up with her. He stopped moving. Ichigo's eyes went wide with alarm. _I don't why, _he thought, _but suddenly I feel like something is wrong…it's one of my sisters. It's Karin!_

Ichigo turned around running in the opposite direction of where he had been. Nanao chased after him, asking, "Where are you going?" "I don't know," Ichigo said, "I don't know where your captain is I never did! My sister is trouble! I couldn't less about helping you!"

"Your sister?" Nanao asked.

"You don't sense that?" Ichigo said, answering a question with a question. "It's something big. It's something intense. More than that I know my sister is trouble. I don't know how I know. Wherever that big energy is, she's near it, I'm almost sure of this. My sister needs help! You can either follow or not. I don't care!" Nanao followed him.

In the park where Karin lay, the hollows continued their forward march. Her right was arm was a ruined mess, severed from her. It was smashed, squashed almost beyond all recognition. Blood covered the ground and Karin's shirt. Only a small bit of her arm was still attached to her shoulder. It was dangling, bloodied, and useless. Karin's agony was great. Her spirit energy spiked. The pressure was rising to point that it was visible for those who could see such things. This attracted the attention of one of the gigantic hollows. It was moving directly behind the one that stepped on her arm. It stopped moving. It stared down at her. The other Menos Grande kept on going forward.

A woman appeared seemingly out of nowhere. She was standing the air. Her hair was long and purple, pulled up in a ponytail. She wore a sleeveless, backless black shirt. A beige sash was around her waist. Her legs were covered by long tight-fitting black pants. On her feet were brown shoes. She moved through the air with an amazing speed, vanishing from sight. She appeared again in front of the face of the hollow was staring at Karin. She moved her hands straight at its mask. The mask crumbled away. The hollow faded away.

The woman disappeared only to reappear on the ground beside Karin. "I've got to get you out of here, girl," she said. She bent down. Very gently she picked Karin up.

Karin stopped her silent screaming. Her eyes were dry. Not one tear had come from them. She gazed up at the woman holding her. In an extremely hoarse voice she said, "My dad…Kurosaki Clinic…" Her words were broken and disjointed. She kept on speaking. "His name…Isshin Kurosaki…old beard face…he's a doctor…be worried…lives at Kurosaki Clinic…"

The woman holding Karin rose up to the air. She moved faster than the average human eye could keep up with, disappearing from the park.

Ichigo continued running down a street. Then without warning he stopped. Nanao did not stop so easily. She bumped right into him nearly knocking the ground. "What's the big idea," she asked.

"My sister," Ichigo said, "One second I'm sensing something, great pain…the next second nothing." Ichigo closed his eyes._ come on, he thought, focus. _He visualized spirit ribbons. He saw red one right behind him, where Nanao was. _Further…stretch out further…Ugh! I've never tried to sense Karin this way. If I don't know what I'm looking for, how can I find it? _Ichigo opened his eyes. _Strong reiatsu…moving fast…It's a shinigami I think…what is this?_ His eyes went wide. "Captains have strong reiatsu, right?"

Nanao moved to stand beside Ichigo. She nodded.

Ichigo scowled at her. "I think I might know where your captain is after all."

In a parking lot, a few streets over from Urahara' Shop, Keigo Asano and Yasutora Sado 'Chad' were running. A mob of people chased them. A monster with tentacles flew behind the people. The two young men ran and ran until Asano collapsed, falling to the pavement. "I can't run anymore," Asano said.

"I can't carry you!" Chad yelled, "I'm too winded!"

Asano stared back at the oncoming mob. "It's weird," he said, "I didn't think I'd die this way. Of the ways I might have imagined my end this isn't one of them. Death by a mob of people connected like puppets by glowing energy strings to a jellyfish monster. Even the worst Sentai shows aren't this ridiculous!" In a whining complaining tone Asano yelled out a fast rant, "I don't want to die like this! I want to die surrounded by beautiful woman! Or maybe by hundreds of children and grandchildren, the product of a lifetime of many successful romantic adventures! It's not fair! This is not how I want to die! This is not how I'm supposed to die!"

"Energy strings?" Chad said, "What are you talking about?"

"**Boy, you see them?" **the monster said in its eerie femine voice, "**The connections to my seeds? You are powerful!" **The hollow stopped her mob. They froze in place, standing still.

"Shut up!" Asano yelled. He suddenly stood up. He glared at the hollow. "Yes, I see you! I wish like hell that I didn't! I don't what you "

"Do you see her clearly?" Chad asked.

"As clear as anything!" Asano shouted, "I see the glow around her. I see the growing glow around you, Chad! I hate this. I don't know how this monster is controlling these people but I'm sick of this! This ends now!" In his mind Asano was thinking, _strings disappear! Seeds disappear! You don't exist! You're not real. You're gone!_

The glowing strings around the people vanished. The seeds did the same, leaving curiously bloodless wounds in their place. The hollow shrieked. **"My seeds! My power! What did you do?" **

A startled looking Asano said, "I don't know!" _I feel, _he thought, _like I'm pushing something…or maybe it's pulling…It's a heavy weight. It's like pedaling a bike up a steep hill…it's hard to do!_

The people no longer looked mindless. What was a mob was now just a crowd of confused people. They wandered away in all directions looking confused and scared. The hollow went on yelling. **"My seeds. My power! I can't feel it! I can't sense the connections!"**

"I think," Asano said to Chad, "that we better get out of here!"

"Yes!" Chad said.

Whatever this is, Asano thought, I can't keep it up any longer! The glows strings and seeds began to appear again the members of the dispersing crowd. Most had walked several feet away. Some had run. All began to move together again. The mob started gathering once more. Their movements were slow. The energy strings faded in and out of existence. When the strings were gone, the people acted like a panicking crowd that just wanted to get away. When the strings reappeared the crowd became the single minded mob.

"What are they doing?" Chad asked.

"I don't know how I'm doing it," Asano said, "I made those puppet strings go away. But I can't keep them away! Those strings are how she's controlling them!"

"**Hah hah hah!' **The hollow was laughing. **"I see now. You didn't destroy my seeds. You hid them! You cannot maintain it. You don't know your own powers! So I'm getting mine back! For hiding my power, I will make you suffer greatly boy!"**

"No you're not!" Asano yelled. _Got to focus, _he thought, _the strings don't exist. Got to keep thinking this… got to keep believing it!_

The strings and vanished. The crowd ran in all directions getting as far as they could. As before the hollow yelled though the words were insults this time. **"Blast you boy! Curse you! I hate getting physically involved in a fight! It's just like a boy to demand that! Girls are so much better! Now die!" **The hollow flew at Asano. She knocked Asano to the ground with her tentacles. She pinned him down trying to crush him.

"Argh!" Asano yelled, "Get off me!"

Chad ran up to the hollow. His fists beat upon it until it moved. He grabbed a hold of Asano and carried over his shoulder. They moved further into the parking lot. They were soon up against a wall at the back of the parking lot. Chad put Asano back down, in a more or less standing position.

"**Don't you know," **the hollow yelled, **"a gentleman is never supposed to hit a lady. You'll pay!" **She charged forward moving along the ground with her tentacles.

"Where is it? Where is she?" Chad asked.

"Coming right at us!" Asano yelled, "Don't talk to me. It breaks my concentration! It's taking nearly everything I got to keep her from controlling that crowd again!"

Chad reached out with his fists. He beat at the air. As the hollow came closer he hit her. She laughed. **"Hah hah hah! Is that the best you got? Your punches are nothing! For the insult of daring to hit me, I'll make you suffer!" **Her tentacles reached out. They grabbed Chad. The tentacles threw him to the ground. The hollow then grabbed Asano lifting up in the air. "You are the source of my trouble. I will kill you first. Then I will use the people to torture your friend!"

Chad laid ground. His mind was filled with images of the past. It was memories of an old white man with white hair and a mustache, a cigar sticking out of his mouth. He wore nice old fashioned clothing, the pants held by suspenders. He had on his head. _My abuelo, my grandfather, _Chad thought, _I still remember what you said to me that day. I remember standing before you. I did not understand why you were so upset. 'Did you hit someone again, Yasutora?' you said, "What comes from hitting? You hurt what hurt you. Yasutora, you are strong. You are big. You are exquisite. You were born with everything most would desire from God.'_

_Abuelo, you got down on one knee to look me in the eye. You told me, 'Those who are different are persecuted. I don't know how it is otherwise but at least in this world, that's how it works. However Yasutora you must be kind.'_

_Abuelo, you asked me, 'Those large strong fists of yours, for what sake do you have them? Find that out.'_

Chad began to stand up. _I understand Abuelo. My fist are not for harming people just because they hurt me. My strength is for protecting others who cannot protect themselves. I understand. I understand it all. So no matter what I must defend those innocents, those whose need is great…even if it costs me._

Two of the hollow's tentacles were wrapped around Asano squeezing him. Chad hit those tentacles with his right fist. A strange liquid appeared around his fist. The liquid went all the way up his arm to his shoulder, becoming solid turning into armor. The armor was black with a red stripe running up it. It was this armor that hit the hollow full on. The tentacles holding on to Asano broke off then disintegrated. Asano fell hard to the ground.

The scattering crowd instantly turned mob again. Those that were near came running toward Chad. Chad trying to dodge the attacking mob, ran around and past the hollow. He turned back around hitting it as hard as he could. It screamed as it faded away. The people were returned to normal as the seeds faded along with the hollow.

Chad looked at his right hand. "My arm?" he said in a puzzled tone. He fell to the pavement. His head turned the right still staring at his arm. _Suddenly, _he thought,_ I have no strength…This armor…where did it come from?_ _Too tired to think about it… _Chad closed his eyes and fell into unconsciousness.

Asano was lying on the ground near Chad. _My head, _Asano thought, _it hurts. _As he sat up, he spoke out loud, "Whoa, everything is spinning. Dizzy!"

"That's probably because you have a concussion," a man said, "I imagine falling on one's head could do that to a person."

Asano turned to look at him. The man was blond haired. He had a hat with purple and white stripes. He wore a black coat with white diamond design. He had on green shirt and pants. He wore clogs. This was Kisuke Urahara but Asano had never met him. Asano raised his brows. "Who are you?" he asked. Then his eyes rolled into the back of his head as he passed out.

"I," Urahara said in a quite cheerful voice, "am Kisuke Urahara but I don't think you know that right now." Urahara's face turned more serious. He looked up at Tessai who standing behind him. "You grab the big guy. I'll take the smaller one."

Across town the woman holding Karin appeared in front of the Kurosaki clinic. Inside the clinic Isshin sat on the floor beside the door. His back was to the wall. His head was downcast. His face was filled with worry. Kon stood beside him patting his left hand in a way that looked like it was meant to be consoling. The moment he heard a knock on the door, Isshin jumped up. Kon found himself hanging on to Isshin's arm as if for dear life. Kon quickly climbed to sit on Isshin's shoulder.

Isshin stood in front of the clear glass door staring in shock. He opened the door. "Yoruichi-san, what happened?"

"A hollow," the woman named Yoruichi said. "A Menos class hollow." Yoruichi's face was grim. Karin's eyes were closed. Her body was limp. Her right arm was completely gone. The shoulder was bandaged. Karin's shirt was gone. Her upper torso was covered by a somewhat blood soaked blanket. The blanket draped and covered most of Karin's body. Yoruichi handed Karin over to the horrified Isshin.

"I did everything I could," Yoruichi said, "Her arm was destroyed. It was trampled by the hollow. She's a very brave girl. She didn't cry, not once. I've seen grown men, hardened warriors who've broken down sobbing like babies from injuries that were less than that. It had me worried, I must admit."

"That's her, that's Karin!" Kon said, "She's tough! This shouldn't have happened to her!"

Yoruichi gave a silently annoyed look at Kon. "You're that mod-soul Kisuke was talking about aren't you?"

Kon nodded. Then he glared at Yoruichi. He stood on Isshin's shoulder. He raised a plush paw if it were a fist ready to hit the woman. "You! You should have done more!" Kon leaned forward. He slipped and fell. He twisted and turned trying not to land on Karin. He wound up on top of her chest. Karin's eyes remained closed. Her remaining arm wrapped around Kon holding him tight.

Yoruichi's eyes went wide. "She should be completely out of it. The drug I gave was a strong one."

"You drugged Karin-chan!" Kon yelled. At the sound of his voice, Karin begin to move her lips a little bit. No sound came out.

"I had no choice," Yoruichi said, "She was delirious. The only thing she did was speak her address and the names of family members. That is how I knew to come here. When she wasn't speaking she was screaming. I was afraid she would damage her vocal cords if she kept it up."

Yuzu came into the room. She had changed clothes. She was now wearing a t-shirt and a skirt. The moment she saw Karin, she screamed. "No! Karin-chan!" Yuzu yelled, "My sister!" Tears poured Yuzu's face as she ran toward her father and sister.

There was a commercial neighborhood about halfway between the Kurosaki Clinic and the park where the Menos Grande had been. On this street lined with shops, Tatsuki and a dazed looking Orihime Inoue were moving fast. They were not quite running but they were coming close to doing so. There were hollows all over the place. The hollows came in many shapes and sizes. Most did not seem interested in the girls. The hollows had their heads bowed or raised as if in prayer. Tatsuki held Orihime's left hand. Moving forward Tatsuki guided Orihime dodging the hollows right and left.

Two men in each dressed in a black hakama and white haori, appeared on a roof top. They were Captain Jushiro Ukitake and Captain Shunsui Kyoraku. Coming behind the two captains at a much slower speed were five members of Division Thirteen.

Shunsui held his longer sword with one hand. He held a badly scorched pink kimono in the other. "A shame that."

Ukitake smiled in a slightly exasperated way. "You can always get another one later. Don't you know someone who makes you a hundred of those things every few years?"

"True." Shunsui nodded. With a mournful expression, he let go of the kimono. It fell toward the ground.

The kimono fell in front of Tatsuki. "Hey!" she yelled. She looked up at the roof. "You did that! Didn't you?" She raised a fist threateningly. Orihime still holding on to Tatsuki's other hand, looked up worriedly.

"Well, what do you know," Shunsui said, "I think those girls can see spirit particles!"

"I don't think you should have dropped that there," Ukitake said.

Shunsui nodded again. He jumped off the roof and walked down on thin air to the street below. Tatsuki was picking up the kimono. Shunsui snatched it from her hand. He smiled flirting with both girls. Tatsuki hit him right on the nose. Shunsui rubbed at his nose. "Ow! What did you do that for?"

"Perverted old man!" Tatsuki shouted.

"Who you calling old? I'll have you know I'm in prime condition!" Shunsui said, "I'm not-" The ground began to shake. The last word of Shunsui's statement came a question. "-old?"

Coming down the street was a Menos Grande. Shunsui's face went serious. He groaned. He yelled up to Ukitake. "I think we found what we were looking for!" Under his breath he muttered, "Or it found us."

Tatsuki turned to take off running in the direction she came from. She still had Orihime's hand.

"I wouldn't do that," Shunsui said in an almost lazy tone, "The only reason those hollows aren't attacking is because they're too scared of that big one. The further you get away from it the more likely it is you'll get attacked. The big ones couldn't less about you. The smaller hollows on the other hand…they like to eat humans with high spirit energy. That's something both of you have in spades."

Ukitake and the members of his division who with him jumped to the ground. Ukitake was quickly standing beside Shunsui.

"What are you saying?" Tatsuki asked, "We're safer if we don't run?"

"No," Shunsui said, "That big hollow can still hurt you by accident if not by intent." Shunsui stared at Orihime. "Say, what's wrong with her?"

"She hit her head," Tatsuki said, "She's acting very odd. I think she might have a concussion. The moment I say hospital-"

"No hospital! No!" Orihime yelled.

Tatsuki sighed. "The moment I say that word she panics. I was trying to take her to Kurosaki Clinic. It's not far from here. A few blocks maybe."

"Kurosaki! Ichigo-kun!" A spaced out looking Orihime was smiling widely.

Shunsui looked at Ukitake. "Hmm, you're always getting the misfits. Some of those are former malcontents from the fourth division. You wouldn't-"

"No," Ukitake said, "I don't have anyone with me at the moment who's good at healing."

Shunsui pointed at the slowly moving Menos Grande. "The instant we destroy that thing, all these others are going to start going crazy again. I suggest an escort for these girls. You know your men better than me. You're their commander. You choose."

Ukitake nodded. "Hidedomo Kajomaru and Saburo Eishima," he said calling out names. A man with shoulder length blond hair pulled in a ponytail stepped forward. He had glasses. He was slenderly built and about average in height. Another man stepped forward after him. This man was tall, six feet seven. He was broad shouldered and muscular. He had dark reddish brown hair cut short expect for the bangs that curved to the right side of his face. His facial features were just a little too broad to be considered handsome.

"Mister Brains and Mister Brawn," Shunsui said approvingly. In a lower voice as if he didn't mean to be heard, he said, "The bigger guy looks like kind of like a less ugly Omaeda."

Some minutes later in a different part of town, in a room in the back of Urahara's shop, Asano and Chad were lying on the floor. The room was traditional Japanese in style and bare of all furniture. A boy with short wavy brown hair was jumping up and down beside Chad. The boy was called Akira Tanaka. "Mister Chad is here!" Akira shouted excitedly.

"Quiet down," Jinta said standing beside Akira. "You're not supposed to act like you know him."

Akira tilted his head down. "I'm sorry. It's just he was so nice to me. Nicer than any had been for long long time."

The room was long and narrow. Against one of the two wider walls there was a set of sliding doors. Ururu leaned against the doors. When Asano began to move, she stood straight. She slid open the doors and looked out. "Urahara-san," she said, "One of them is beginning to wake up."

Urahara walked into the room. He closed the doors behind him.

Asano opened his eyes. He looked around. He sat up quickly. "Who are you?" he asked. Asano's eyes gazed wildly around the room. "Where am I? The last thing I remember was that monster. I think it's called a hollow."

"You're right," Urahara said, smiling. "That's exactly what that was. You and your friend here defeated it."

"Wait a sec," Asano said, "I remember you, I think. You didn't tell me your name!"

Urahara smiled wider. "I did. You were out like a light before I did."

"You brought us here!" Asano yelled, "You kidnapped us!"

Urahara shook his head. He acted like a parent scolding a child. "Now, now, don't be hasty. I saved you. There are a lot of hollows out there at this moment that would love to eat you. If I had not come along you would be worse than dead."

"Worse?" Asano's brows went up. "What's worse than dead?"

"Your soul getting eaten!" Jinta yelled.

Urahara's eyes went wide. A worried look came upon his face. Tessai slid open the doors and walked in to stand beside him. "Manager," Tessai said, "I believe the situation is getting worse."

"Yes," Urahara said, "That was another Adjuchas at least. If something isn't done soon, this entire town could be destroyed."

Tessai bowed his head. "Manager, this is very likely a diversionary tactic." "I am not unaware of that," Urahara said, "I'm also aware that something has to be done. Do you have that barrier spell ready?"

Tessai gave a nod. "The moment we leave I'll have it in place."

Urahara looked at Asano. He smiled apologetically. "I am sorry. We'll have to continue this conversation later. Please don't leave. Not for the next hour or so. It is not safe out there, not for someone with high spiritual pressure. Not if they are as completely untrained as you and your friend are."

Urahara moved to stand beside Akira. Urahara went down to one knee. "Akira-kun," he said, "I must ask you to stay here too. Don't leave this shop for any reason. Wait until I return."

Tears were welling up in Akira's eyes. "I don't want to be alone."

Urahara grinned. "You won't be. These two older boys will be with you."

"Mister Chad," Akira said, "He's strong. He's brave."

"Very," Urahara said. He stood. His face went serious once more. He turned and walked out the doorway followed by Tessai, Jinta, and Ururu. Urahara turned his head back to look at the room he left. He stared at Asano. "If you don't want to be killed by hollows you'll stay put." Urahara gazed down the small boy who was still beside Chad. "Akira-kun, a barrier will put in place. Should it go down you'll know it. It should make a large expulsion sound, a big boom. Should this happen I want you to go to that trap door I showed you. I want you to hide down there."

As Akira nodded, Urahara turned back around and kept going further and further away from the room. Ururu being the last out was the one who pulled the doors shut.

Asano sat on the floor staring at the closed doors in confusion. "That," he said, "was weird." _If that man, _Asano thought, _thinks I'm just going to stay here, he's got another thing coming! As soon as Chad wakes up…_

A minute later, Urahara walked out the front door of his shop. The kids moved ahead. Tessai was right behind him. Jinta held a bat like club. Ururu had a cannon wrapped in cloth strapped to her back. Tessai closed the door

"Boss, you're going to leave those guys in your shop like that?" Jinta asked, "Anything could happen. Some should be watching. There ought to be a guard!"

"Are you volunteering?" Urahara asked.

"What! No!" Jinta yelled, "No way! I want to be where the action is! I'm not babysitting some crybaby two know-nothing idiots!"

A minute after that, Jinta was inside the shop right near the front door. His arm were crossed. He was glaring. Ururu stood next to him the cannon still strapped to her back. "This is your fault," she said.

Outside, Urahara and Tessai were in front of the shop. Tessai chanted something. A transparent yellow force field appeared around the shop, the barrier that Urahara had spoken of. "That should do it," Tessai said, "So long as no one tries to break the barrier from the inside, it should still be standing when we return." The two of them moved forward away from the shop.

On another street lined with shops, Ukitake, Shunsui and three seated officers of the thirteenth division stood. They stared up at six Menos Grande moving in rows of two.

"And I thought one was annoying," Shunsui said, "Shouldn't the guys at R.S.D.I. have figured this out by now? There should be backup coming by now!"

On the sidewalk of another street, Ichigo and Nanao walked side by side. They past hollows that were nearly as still as statues. There were hollows with their heads bent down. There hollows with their head raised. Many of hollows were making wailing sounds. They were paying no attention to the shinigami or the human in their midst.

"Why are they doing that?" Ichigo asked.

"I don't know," Nanao said, "I wish you would stop asking so many questions. Just because shinigami know more the average human about spirits doesn't mean we know everything. You know living humans aren't even supposed to see shinigami."

"Up until a few months ago I didn't!" Ichigo snapped. He stared at a catlike hollow which was shaking. "It's almost like they're scared."

Nanao gazed up at the sky. Her brows went up as high as they would go. She tapped Ichigo on the shoulder.

"What!" he yelled. Then he looked up. "What the heck is that?" Ichigo asked.

Nanao's voice was nearly a whisper as she said, "Multiple Menos Grande in the living world. Impossible."

High above the two story buildings there were giant heads in the sky. The bodies the heads belonged to were obscured by buildings and distance.

"That can't be anymore than a few streets over!" Ichigo shouted. He took off running toward the Menos Grande.

"What is this guy, crazy?" Nanao asking before chasing after him.

Before Ichigo could move very far, a hollow moving with remarkable speed jumped off a roof to stand in front of him. **"I can't let you go any further,**" the hollow said. Its body was purple. Its head was vaguely beetle like. It was nearly as small a human with a body like an over exaggerated parody of a body builder.

"You!" Ichigo yelled, "You were watching me earlier!"

"You're not a normal hollow," Nanao said.

"**Hee hee hee!" **The hollow's laugher rang through the air. **"You have no idea how right you are! Does the word adjuchas ring any bells?"**

Nanao gasped. "Adjuchas?"

Ichigo was annoyed. "An adjuchas? What is that? Am I supposed to be impressed? I'm not!"

"An adjuchas," Nanao said, "is a powerful type of hollow. They're so seldom seen that they're not talked about in standard academy textbooks."

Ichigo snorted. "Obviously that's wrong if we're facing one right now!"

"You don't understand," Nanao said, "They're stronger than Menos Grande!"

Ichigo pointed at the nearly human sized hollow. "This guy? He's sort of small for that, isn't he?"

Nanao shook her head. "Size does not matter in this case."

The shinigami Rukia Kuchiki stood in front of a house. She raised her sword. She slashed at a hollow's mask. The hollow faded away but more were coming toward her. The hollows surrounded her. Her back was against a wall. She was worn out. There was a wide cut on her left shoulder as if something had taken a bite out of her. She kept on fighting.

Suddenly another sword was slashing down the hollows. A path was cleared and the wielder of the sword could be seen. It was Urahara. Tessai was right behind him. Urahara's face was grim as he said, "Need a hand?"

On the same street Urahara's shop an adjuchas level hollow wandered back and forth. He was human sized though tall. He was muscular. He was broad shouldered. His body was green and shaped like a gorilla's. His bone white mask was like the face of a horse. **"It should be here," **he said, **"I don't understand. He said it would be here!"**

A rift opened above a building. An unusual being stepped out. He was human looking expect for the bone colored helmet on his head. The helmet had on the front long saber tooth like teeth. His hair was black and messy with a long braid in the back. He was small. His face was almost femine. He was dressed in a white outfit that was trimmed with black. He stepped right into the air. He walked to the ground.

The gorilla shaped adjuchas looked at him and visibly shook. **"You! What are you doing here!"**

The smaller being shook his head. "Typical," he said, "Sending some of lesser intelligence to a job is never wise. His majesty sent me to make certain it is found. Obviously unlike some he is as wise as he is powerful. You are on the other hand are not."

The adjuchas bent down bowing to the smaller being standing in front of it. **"Please do not hurt me! I tried to find it. I did! It is near I know it. **The smaller being crossed his arms. "If it cannot found must be hidden by some sort of kido spell."

Over at Urahara's shop Jinta stood in the shop beside the door. Asano stood near him. They glared at each other. "I'm not scared!" Asano shouted.

"You should be!" Jinta yelled.

Ururu was sitting on the floor near Jinta. "Arguing doesn't solve anything," Ururu said, "Both of you-" She stopped speaking in mid-sentence. Her face went completely blank, void of all emotion. She stood. Her voice took on a strange quality. "Locking onto the unusual reiatsu of Arrancar. Now entering Genocide Mode."

Jinta's brows went up in shock. "Uh oh!"

Ururu walked to the door. She unlocked the door. She opened the door. She walked forward. She stopped as something was her way but her feet kept moving.

"Ururu! Wait!" Jinta yelled.

A sound like an explosion filled the air. Asano covered his ears. "What is that?" he asked.

"The barrier spell Tessai put up," Jinta said, "That would be the sound of it coming down!"

Ururu walked forward very quickly. Jinta ran after her shouting, "Stop, Ururu! Stop!" He stopped at the edge of the sidewalk. A worried expression was on his face.

Ururu flew up into the air. She crossed over the street toward the gorilla shaped hollow. She attacked the one next to it. "You are Arrancar," she said, "You are a hazard. Hazards are enemies. Enemies must eliminated."

Ururu wrapped her hands around the Arrancar's throat. The Arrancar looked shocked. "What- What are you?" he asked.

"**Who cares!" **the gorilla shaped adjuchas said. Large gorilla like fists slammed into Ururu's head knocking her down. She fell unconscious to the ground. The adjuchas and the Arrancar crossed the street.

Asano stood out in front of the shop starring in disbelief. Akira was still in the shop gazing out the open door with eyes wide from fright. Asano was standing out in front of the shop looking as Jinta ran back toward the shop yelling, "Hey idiot! Get back inside!" The red haired boy dragged the teenager into the shop then shut the door as fast as he could.

"The little girl!" Asano shouted, "You just left her out there!"

"I didn't have a choice," Jinta said, "They're not after her."

Akira looked fearfully up at Jinta. "The hollows," Akira said, " are coming after me, aren't they? Are they going to get us? That monkey one was scary!"

Jinta scowled at Akira. "Crybaby! What a-" He didn't get to finish the insult. Large green fists punched a hole straight through the door. Jinta's eyes widened. "Run!" he shouted. Large green fists came down on his head knocking Jinta out cold.

Asano grabbed one of Akira's hands. They took off running deeper into the store. _This isn't happening, _Asano thought, _There's no such things as monsters! _Asano turned his head to look. He couldn't see the monster anymore. Shelves were being knocked down as if by an invisible force. _Just because I don't see it doesn't mean it isn't there! Whatever this trick is, it's not doing me any good!_

The hollow became visible to Asano again. It was scratching its head. **"Uh, how the boy do that? His spirit energy was gone for a second."**

The smaller one, the Arrancar stepped through the large hole in the wall. He was clearly annoyed. "Who cares. Let's just take what we were sent after and leave."

"**Um," **the gorilla shaped Adjuchas said, **"Which one? They're both brown haired boys. They're both smallish to me."**

The arrancar shook his head. "Just take both of them then. Which ever isn't the correct one will die going to Hueco Mundo."

"**Good idea!" **the adjuchas said. His gorilla shaped green hands reached out toward Asano and Akira.

Asano gazed up nervously. "Die? I don't want to die!" he yelled. Still holding on to Akira's hand he ran for the room where Chad was. He flung open the sliding doors. Chad was still unconscious. "Chad old buddy!" Asano shouted, "Wake up!" It was no use. Chad did not stir. Large green ape like fists knocked into Asano's head sending him into unconsciousness.

The adjuchas picked up Asano and slung him over a large green shoulder. The adjuchas grabbed Akira and carried him. Akira kicked and screamed. It did the boy no good. He was carried out of the shop. A black portal, a rift opened outside.

Asano found himself suddenly standing on a small patch of brown dirt. There was water all around him. There was other small brown circles, other small islands. Some like the one he was standing on looked barely large enough to stand on. Others were big enough to lay down on. He tilted his head up. The water was clear blue and very deep looking. The water and the patches of dirt went on as far his eyes could see.

"Where am I?" Asano asked.

"We haven't got time for questions," a man's voice said causing Asano to jump. He turned around. Standing on another little island a few feet away was a man in a blue kimono. He had long straight brown hair going past his shoulders. He looked like he was in his forties. His face was very similar in shape to Asano's.

"Who are you? You look familiar." Asano pointed at the man. "You've been pestering ever since the night of Don Kanonji's show. Haven't you? You're weird. You haven't even said anything to me before now!"

The man sighed. He put a hand over one of his eyes. "Was I ever this annoying?"

"Huh," Asano said, "What do you mean? Where are we?"

The man in the blue kimono looked annoyed. "This is your inner world." At Asano's blank look, the man's eyes narrowed. "Your mind! We're inside your mind!"

"We are?" Asano looked around again. "Cool! But shouldn't it look flashier? This place is boring!"

"It's calm. It's peaceful. Unlike you!" the man said.

"I resent that!" Asano said, "I can be peaceful! I can be calm!"

"Just shut up kid!" the man yelled.

Asano's brows raised up. "Again who are you? I think you kind of look my sister, Mizuho, only not female. I'm not saying you look like a girl. You are totally a guy and look like one!"

The man groaned. "The annoyance gets worse! I forgot that I used to babble when I got nervous. I thought I was free of that habit by high school. Apparently not."

_The way he's talking, _Asano thought, _like my actions are his past…that's odd. _"Wait a second," Asano said out loud, "Are you somehow me? A future me?"

"Sort of," the man said.

Asano smiled. "Cool!"

"Shut up!" the man shouted. The man calmed down. The anger quickly faded from his face. In its place was a deathly serious.

"Whoa man!" Asano said, "What's wrong? You look like someone stepped on your grave or something."

"Or something," the man said, "You have powers. Powers that I know more about than anyone. You're having to do something you won't like. Something you shouldn't be able to yet, not for centuries. So it might kill you."

Asano backed away. "I'm not that stupid. I'm out of here!" He fell into water. The water was deep. He started sinking. The older man moved fast. He jumped to where Asano had been standing. He yanked Asano up by his shirt. He threw Asano on to anther island of dirt.

"I said it might kill you," the man said, "It's your only chance. Otherwise what's going on outside your mind will kill you. We're about to pass through a gate that only spirits and beings made up of spiritrons may go through. Time is stretched in here. Minutes pass in here for every second out there but it is still not enough. If you don't listen to me, if you don't do exactly as I say you will die."

Standing on a commercial street in Karakura Town Ichigo and Nanao were being blocked from moving forward by a bored looking Adjuchas. The purple beetle headed Adjuchas just stood there not evne trying to fighting. **"Fighting," **it said, **"would be pointless. You would get hurt. If I let you pass the odds would be even higher that you would get hurt. We can't have that. The gods have an you interest in you Ichicho Kurosaki. Who am I to disobey the gods?"**

_It knows my name!_ Ichigo thought. His eyes widened with alarm. "You," Ichigo said, "I've seen you before."

The adjuchas nodded. **"Right you are. I've been watching you since I since arrived in the human world a few hours ago."**

"Who are the gods you speak of?" Nanao asked.

The Adjuchas laughed. **"The most powerful of all hollows of course."**

Nanao looked ready to faint. She spoke softly almost whispering. "Vasto Lordes," she said.

The adjuchas only laughed harder. It tilted its head as if listening for something. **"Ah, the gargantas are opening again,"** it said, **"That's my cue. Time for me to leave. I'd love to say it's been fun but it hasn't. Babysitting a strange human who may be useful later is dull work." **A black portal opened up. The adjuchas waved at Ichigo. **"Farewell for now!"** The adjuschas walked through the portal. In seconds the portal completely disappeared. One street over, Shunsui and Ukitake looked on in shock as giant rifts opened up. The four reaming Menos Grande all moved through the rift.

"They're leaving?" Ukitake said.

"Who knows," Shunsui said, "Maybe we scared them off."

Ukitake shook his head. "I don't think that it's that."

"Nah." Shunsui said, "We couldn't be that lucky. It's almost like it was a distraction. Like they were waiting for something. But what?"

Back on the street in front of Urahara's shop, an Arrancar stepped through a black portal. He was followed by an Adjuchas who was carrying two boys draped over his shoulders. The portal soon disappeared as if it was never there.

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER FOURTEEN: EMOTIONAL AFTERMATH!


	14. Emotional Aftermath

Important Note: For those who wanted to read this story badly, I am so sorry for not updating sooner. This chapter was hard to write. I've been working on in bits and pieces. I knew what I wanted to say but I was having trouble writing it out. Other interests captured my imagination more. Also some chronic health problems of mine flared up making it impossible to write anything for a while. Being young so does not mean being healthy!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters. Tite Kubo does. This is just a fun writing exercise.

* * *

CHAPTER FOURTEEN: EMOTIONAL AFTERMATH

On an otherwise empty street six shinigami and Ichigo Kurosaki stood. Ichigo glared fiercely at Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku. "You two are the ones who've been spying on me!" Ichigo yelled, "I didn't know your names today before but don't think I don't know what you've been doing!"

Shunsui standing to Ukitake's left pointed at him. "What's he's been doing," Shunsui said, "I only got here today."

"Well you're here now!" Ichigo shouted. He turned his scowl on Ukitake looking him straight in the eye. "You've had people staking out my father's clinic. You had someone infiltrate my school. Up until yesterday you've had your people following me everywhere! Today when I got surrounded by hollows, it was only luck that one of you shinigami was even around to save me!" Ichigo glared at Nanao was standing a few away from Shunsui. "I am sick of this! I'm sick of dealing with hollows. I'm sick of being helpless! And I'm really sick of you people! If you're going to do something at least be open about it. Stop sneaking around!" Ichigo began walking away. A very fierce scowl was his face. "Now, if you don't mind I'm done with you for today. I'm going home to my dad's clinic, preferably without company!"

"Clinic?" Shunsui raised a brow. "Two girls who could see us were talking about one." Shunsui smiled a lazy smile. "They were both pretty but a little too young for my tastes. The red haired one was way too ditzy though it might have been because of the concussion."

_Red hair…big bust….ditzy, _Ichigo thought, _what an unflattering description but it sounds Inoue. _Ichigo turned back around to face Shunsui. Ichigo's facial expression changed from anger to worry and alarm. "What girls?" Ichigo asked. "Are you talking about Orihime Inoue and Tatsuki Arisawa?"

"I don't recall their names," Shunsui said, "But I do remember they were speaking about a clinic with the same name as your surname."

Ichigo scowled at Shunsui then walked away.

On another street on the other side of town, there was Urahara's Shop. It was damaged looking. The front door and part of the wall were busted, caving inward. There was a significant hole there. Kisuke Urahara walked though the wide gap. The tall Tessai Tsukabishi moved behind him carrying the unconscious form of the much smaller Ururu Tsumugiya. In Tessai's arms Ururu looked almost like a doll. She was so still. Her eyes were closed.

On the floor of the shop was Jinta. The red haired boy was moving slightly. His eyes were open. He looked up at Kisuke. "They took him," Jinta said, "An Arancar and an adjuchas came. I couldn't stop them. I didn't even have time to fight back." Jinta glared and made a fist. "That crybaby…sure he was annoying. But I didn't want this to happen! They took that other guy, that Keigo Asano jerk. His friend is still in the back, still hasn't woke up. Some friend he is!"

"What?" Kisuke's brows went up fast. Just as quickly his face became grim again. Under his breath he was muttering, "Unexpected, completely unexpected." He spoke more loudly. "Tell no one," he said, "Do not speak of what occurred today. If asked, talk only of a hollow attack. Now, tell me everything from the beginning…"

At the Kurosaki Clinic Ichigo walked in through the front door. He was gazing up at the face of a tall man, a shinigami he hadn't met before. The man was large not just of height but of build too. He was muscular. He had short reddish brown hair with longish bangs. Another man was standing a few feet behind him. The other one was slender more normal of height. He had long blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. There were glasses on his face.

Ichigo glare at the nearest man and then at the other. "What are you doing here!" he yelled. The way he said it, it was not a question.

Ichigo's father stepped out of one of the clinic's hospital rooms. He was wearing a white doctor's coat over casual clothing. His usually smiling face was serious. "Lower your voice, son," Isshin said, "There are some seriously wounded people here."

"Fine," Ichigo said. His brows went down in anger. He pointed at the two shinigami. "Just tell me, what are they doing here?"

"Who?" Isshin asked. He looked confused.

The taller shinigami nodded. "He can't see us," he said

The blond haired shinigami with the glasses smiled. "It's true."

_These guys don't know anything, _Ichigo thought. Out loud he asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a doctor," Isshin said, "I have injured patients. Of course I'm here."

"Not you Dad!" Ichigo yelled.

Isshin's brows went up. "If not me then who?" An annoyed expression spread across Isshin's face. "Oh, you mean ghosts."

The thought running through Ichigo's mind was pure sarcasm. _Brilliant acting, Dad! Not!_

"Captain Ukitake ordered us to escort the two girls here," the taller shinigami said.

"Two girls?" Ichigo said, "Inoue and Tatsuki?"

Isshin looked surprised again. "How did you know that, son? How did you know they were here?" Ichigo pointed at the shinigami. His father looked straight past them. "What are you are pointing at?" Isshin asked.

Ichigo shook his head. _I know he can see them. He's one of them! He's a shinigami! I don't believe this! There's so much…so much I don't know about him. I don't even know why he's in exile. I don't know why he's so scared of discovery…well, maybe I know that but that's only if I actually trust anything Dad says…I better play along him…I got to get rid of these guys._

Ichigo's eyes narrowed. He glared at the two hakama clad shinigami."You, two! Out!" he yelled. He gestured at the door.

"Why should we obey anything you say?" the taller shinigami asked. He glared down at Ichigo.

The blond haired one smiled gently. "Oh, come now, Saburo This is his house. We're the intruders here. If the drop in reiatsu outside is anything to go by then the danger is past. There's no reason to stay here. Come on!" The two hakama clad shinigami walked right through the front door of clinic as they left.

Isshin sighed, looking relieved. "Those two just wouldn't leave! They escorted your friend Tatsuki and Orihime here. Under the excuse of protection they decided to hang around."

"Inoue's here?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, she came in here with a slight concussion." Isshin ran his fingers through his head. He appeared to be stressed out. "One of those guys kept staring at me. He kept talking like he thought he had seen me before. Do you know how hard it is to pretend that someone isn't there when they're standing right in front of you?!"

Ichigo scowled at Isshin. "No, Dad I don't. Now what about Karin? Where's Karin? I don't know how I did it but I sensed her in danger."

Isshin's face was suddenly grim. "She was. She's not in good shape. She was playing in the park when the hollows showed up. Her right arm was crushed by a Minos Grande. That arm is now gone."

Ichigo's eyes widened with horror. "No," he muttered, "No!" Isshin led him to the room where Karin was. The room was portioned off from the larger part of the clinic. Ichigo gazed in shock at his little sister. Karin was lying there on a hospital bed. She was so still. Her eyes were shut. She was lying flat on her back, facing the ceiling. All that was left of her right arm was a stub that was tightly bandaged. On the bed beside the pillow, Kon sat running his paws gently through Karin's hair. His plush face was mournful.

"Karin!" Ichigo shouted. He ran to stand beside the bed. "How did it happen?" "I've already told you, son," Isshin said. He moved to stand at Ichigo's side. He put a hand on Ichigo's shoulder.

"Not that!" Ichigo yelled, pulling away from his father. "The appearance of all those hollows! They were all over the town! There was so many of them! All that reiatsu. I thought I was going to pass out at one point. Why? Why were they here?" Thoughts passed swiftly through Ichigo's mind._ Ishida! He was bragging this morning at school…something about proving to the shinigami that they aren't needed in this town…it sounded like he was going to something drastic… it's too much of a coincidence… he had to have something to do with this! _A look of great anger appeared on Ichigo's face. He marched out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Isshin behind him.

"To deal with a problem!" Ichigo shouted.

Across town in the back of Urahara's shop, Yasutora 'Chad' Sado opened his eyes. He was on the floor of this old fashioned, traditional; looking Japanese room. Leaning against a wall was a man with blond hair and a wide hat, smiling a little too widely. He was the one Chad sold a parrot to a few months ago. The man's smile seemed fake. "We meet again," he said, "My name is Kisuke Urahara. I told you this before. You wouldn't remember it because you passed out. That was over three hours ago. You've been out cold for some time."

"Where are we?" Chad asked.

"You're at my shop," Urahara said.

Chad stood up. He looked around the room. "Where's Keigo?" he asked, "Keigo Asano?

Urahara raised his brows. "Who is that?"

"My friend," Chad said, "He was with me earlier."

Urahara was calm, a little too calm, almost emotionless as he said, "I'm sorry besides my staff, you're the only one here. We found you during the massive wave of Hollow attacks this afternoon."

"Hollows," Chad said, "That thing I couldn't see. That thing that chased Yuichi, Ichigo, and me, that first time we met. It was one of them."

There was a strange flicker of emotion in Urahara's eyes. It was so quick, it was gone so fast, if one blinked one might have missed it. Urahara smiled but this time the smile did not reach his eyes. "I've come to know Ichigo well. He's been in my shop regularly. He has growing spiritual powers. You too have powers, powers that awakened today. I could sense that difference in you. The reiatsu, the spiritual pressure you put off today was strong enough that my employees and I could find you. The positional for the power you now possess must have always been there. You've been surrounded multiple times by high spiritual pressure. That I believe is what wakened your powers."

"I wasn't alone today," Chad said, "Keigo was with me. Whatever power, I've got, he had powers too. We fought one of those things, those hollows. I couldn't have defeated it without him. What happened to Keigo?"

Urahara shook his head. "I can't tell you. You're the only one here. I could speculate about what happened to your friend but I won't."

"There's something you're not saying," Chad said.

"Only that you're about to enter a new world if you chose to," Urahara said. Urahara opened a sliding door and walked to the front of the shop. Chad followed him. Chad stopped for a moment in the shop to at a birdcage hanging in a corner. It was the bird that used to Yuichi Shibata's soul.

Urahara gestured at the space where the shop's front door should have been. "As you can see a hollow attacked here too. Those things were all over the place."

"If those hollows were all over," Chad said, "then people got hurt. How many?"

"Surprisingly not many at all," Urahara said, "Normal living humans cannot sense hollows usually. However there was an extraordinary amount of hollows present, more than I have seen in a longtime. That many puts a good deal of spiritual pressure. Even the most insensitive might sense that something was wrong. As the hour passed on there were fewer and fewer people on the streets."

Chad left the shop through the hole in the wall where the front door should have. Urahara visibly relaxed the moment that Chad was gone. Jinta and Tessai Ururu were all doing various things throughout the little shop. Urahara's sudden loud sigh caused them all to look his way. At their stares Urahara grew defensive. "I didn't lie to the boy. I didn't," he said. I just didn't tell him everything. I left out a few details." A look of guilt was all over Urahara's face. He glanced over at the birdcage in the corner. The guilt on his face only increased.

In the world of the souls, the Soul Society, in the Thirteenth Barracks, Shunsui Kyoraku and Jushiro Ukitake walked out the front door of the barracks. Nanao Ise, Shunsui's lieutenant moved a few steps behind them.

"How did you manage it?" Shunsui asked, "A private Senkaimon, in your barracks, a hidden gate. I didn't even know about it!"

"Hush," Nanao said, "You shouldn't be talking about that." They moved out on the streets of the city. Nanao stood on one side of Shunsui, Jushiro on the other.

"Nanao-chan! My lovely-"

Shunsui didn't get to finish that statement. Nanao slapped him. "You're acting worse than usual. I'm going back to the Eighth Barracks. That's where you should going be too. You do have responsibilities. to take of. But no, you're head off somewhere else. You're shirking off responsibilities, again!" Her brows went down. Her voice raised with every word. "I'm just going to pretend I never of that illegal, unregistered, malfunctioning gate!" She turned around on the road moving swiftly in the opposite direction. Under breath, she was muttering, "Over a thousand years old and he still acts like a boy…"

"She seemed different." Shunsui rubbed at the whiskers on his chin. "Do you think she was mad?"

Jushiro smiled slightly, He shook his head just as slightly. "Someday you'll push her too far my friend."

"Nah!" Shunsui flashed a winning grin. "She likes me. She could never get mad at me for long. I'm simply too irresistible!"

The two captains continued on down the street. They were headed in the direction of the Twelfth Barracks. The Shinigami Research and Development Institute, the S.R.D.I. for short, was housed and run by Division Twelve. It was the S.R.D.I. that usually tracked hollow activity in the human world.

"You would think I would have known about that gate!" Shunsui said, "We've been friends for what? A millennium? More than that I think."

"You don't know everything old friend," Jushiro said.

Shunsui pointed at Jushiro. His voice more teasing than accusing. "Yeah? What other big secrets are you keeping from me? What big bad skeletons have you got hidden your closet?"

Jushiro laughed. "Nothing Shunsui. You know everything important." They turned a street corner

"I wonder if I do…I-" Shunsui stopped speaking. Jushiro went quiet too. Up ahead, there should have a large looming giant of a tower. The tower was deep in the Twelfth Barracks but it had always been possible to see it from this street. The tower was gone.

Someone, a random stranger, a small man short of height, walked down the street. Shunsui grabbed the man by one of his kimono's sleeves. "You there, what happened?" Shunsui asked

The man looked bewildered and nervous. "Y-you're a c-captain!" he half stuttered.

"Yes, I know that!" Shunsui's easy going personality was well know in the Seireitei. That he looked mildly annoyed the way he did, was for him a sign of great irritation.

The short man looked both worried and surprised. "You don't know? How can you not? The ground shook all over the Seireitei! The tower blew up a few hours ago!" The man broke free of Shunsui's grasp and took off running.

Shunsui rubbed at his chin whiskers once more. "That answers the questions from earlier. It's safe to say that nobody has been looking at what's going in the human world. It's suspicious, that's what it is." The technology used by the towers had been for sometime, the sole way of monitoring the hollow activity. While other older methods were possible, it would take a few hours to get them going. Shunsui and Jushiro each looked intensely worried.

Back in the human world, Ichigo Kurosaki barged into the living room of Uryu Ishida's apartment. "You son of a-!" Ichigo yelled, "This is all your fault! You did something! I don't know what!"

Uryu sat on his sofa, looking irritated. "Get out Kurosaki!"

Ichigo stomped toward Uryu. With a strength driven on by anger, Ichigo lifted Uryu up by the shirt of the school uniform he was still wearing. "What did you do? Where did all those hollows come from?" "To answer your first question," Uryu said, glaring coldly, "I released hollow bait. As for the second, I do not know everything about hollows." "Hollow bait? You lured the hollows here! It is your fault!" Ichigo's glare was one of murderous indent.

Uryu raised a brow. "What is my fault? What is it you're speaking of?" "Because of you," Ichigo said, "my little sister lost her arm to a Minos Grande!"

"What? How?" Uryu's brow both went up. His eyes widened.

"What do you mean how!" Ichigo yelled.

The front door in the living opened up. Ryuken walked in. Just as Ichigo was about to punch Uryu, Ryuken grabbed him, dragging him away. "I would ask you not to lay your hands on my son," Ryuken, every bit as cold in his mannerisms as his son had been.

"You want a fight?" Ichigo asked.

"Do not ask for what you cannot handle," Ryuken said, "I have lived and trained for many years. You have not. My son was not responsible for what happened to today. Quincy hollow bait is designed to attract lesser hollows. It cannot, it does not bring in greater ones. They are only attracted to great spiritual pressure." Ryuken continued dragging a struggling Ichigo. He literally threw Ichigo out of the apartment.

Ichigo was left outside starring in disbelief. _Is he right, _Ichigo wondered, _what did happen? Who or what is responsible?_

Hours later it was night. In the clinic Orihime was resting in a room.. She slept on a hospital bed. She woke to sound of someone yelling.

"No! My arm!" a girl shouted.

Then someone, a male voice shouted, "Big sister calm down!" This voice grew more alarmed. "Scary sister! No!" There was the sound of something hitting the partition that dived the room into two. This something hit the partition hard.

Orihime got out of bed. _What's going, _she thought, _what is all that noise? Someone's crying! _She walked to the partition and pulled it back just enough that she could move through to the other room. On the floor on there was a stuffed animal, a plush lion._ What the… it moved! _Orihime did not stare long at the toy lion. Her attention was captivated by the girl in the hospital bed. _That's Karin , Ichigo's sister._

Karin didn't even notice that Orihime was there. Karin was sitting up. Tears were streaming down her face. Orhime gasped as she saw that Karin only had one arm.

Karin looked up glaring. "What are you doing here? Get out!"

"What happened?" Orihime asked.

"One of those hollows," Karin said.

"Those monsters?" Orihime asked. She moved towards the bed. "I wish I could do something to help you."

The petals in Orhime's hairpins flew away from her head. They turned into the little winged people that had helped Orihime earlier.

Karin looked at the flying people. Her eyes narrowed. "Now I've seen everything," she sarcastically, "Ghosts, Hollows and now this! What's next, leprechauns?"

The dark haired spirit with the scarf over his mouth, Tsubaki flew in front of Karin's face. He scowled at Karin. "Watch your mouth girl!"

All six of the fairies began to fly around Orhime. Their leader, Shuno, a blond man with a top knot spoke up. "There is something that you can do," Shuno said, "We can heal her arm. We can restore it."

"We can?" Orihime's eyes widened in surprise.

"We can," Shuno said, "You and me together. The others and I, we are your Shun Shun Rika, we are your power. What we did for your friend earlier, we can do for this one too. Just say it."

"Shouten Kishun!" Orihime shouted. "I repel thee!" Shuno flew over Karin's arm. Then Ayame, the spirit with the kimono over her head, flew over Karin too. A field of energy appeared around Karin. In seconds where there had been only a stump there was an fully restored arm and hand.

Karin looked her right arm. She flexed it. She moved her fingers. "It's the same. It's as if it never happened!" Karin stared up at Orihime in wonder. "How did you do this?"

"I don't know" Orihime said. She smiled.

Isshin, Yuzu and Ichigo all came into the looking shocked. Isshin sat on the bedside. He looked at his daughter's arm. "It's amazing. It's a miracle!" Isshin shouted. He glanced with eyes wide at the little flying spirits then pretended rather poorly not to see them. Isshin kept looking them then not. His eyes darted back and forth two or three times.

Tsubaki the hot tempered spirit, flew right in front of Isshin's nose. Isshin crossed his eyes in alarm trying to look Tsubaki. Tsubaki glared. "Give it up old man! You old geezer! We know you can see us!" Tsubaki made a fist. He swung his arm back. He bopped Isshin right on the tip of his nose.

Isshin jumped up to his feet clutching his nose. "Ow! Something stung me! What?"

Yuzu was clearly confused. "Why is Daddy jumping up and down?" she asked.

In Urahara's shop Jinta was sweeping some of the debris off the floor. Urahara set on the elaveraed platform in the back of the store. Urahara looked worried.

Tessai was standing near Urahara. "Are you okay, manager?"

Urahara smiled weakly. "Me? I'm fine." He took his hat off. He scratched his head. "Not everything is fine but I am. I just can't shake the feeling that I forgot something." He shook his head. "Oh, well, it must not be anything important. If it was I would remembered it, wouldn't I?"

At the Kurosaki residence in Ichigo's bedroom, Ichigo stood looking at the top of his desk, at a small piece of paper that was there. It was the size and shape of a business card. _So many things happened to today, _Ichigo thought, _I almost forgot about this…_ He picked up the card. _Urahara-san wanted me to be there at this address at 11:30 on Saturday…he had that annoying brat Jinta deliver the message... I still think there's nothing but warehouses there…Tomorrow is _Saturday...what is Urahara-san up to?

Back in Urahara's shop Ururu looked out the hole in the wall and doorway. "Someone is there. Someone strong."

"I know," Urahara said. His face was as somber as a funeral. He put the hat back on his head and stood up. He walked forward out of the shop. Outside across the road Shunsui and Ukitake stood under the light of a street light. They walked forward across the street to meet Urahara.

"We have to talk," Shunsui said.

"We shouldn't do so out here," Urahara said, "Inside." He gestured at his shop. The two shigami captains walked with him towards it.

In under two minutes the two captains and the former one appeared to be someplace entirely different from the shop. Tessai stood with them. There was what appeared to be an open sky above their heads. There was no sign of the city or civilization.

"All this is under your shop?" Shunsui said, "Impressive."

Urahara grinned weakly. "You have no idea. When I built this, I did it all in one night." His face turned more serious again. He tilted his head a little. His hat shadowed his eyes. "You didn't come here to discuss that. There are more important issues. That you are coming here now tells me you know that. If you are willing to listen, I will you my view of what happened all those years ago when I was forced into exile. I will tell what truth I know about the man named Sosuke Aizen…"

* * *

NEXT TIME: CHAPTER FIFTEEN: THE KIDO MASTER!


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